Ryan Garcia, following a failed drug test and subsequent suspension, announced his retirement from boxing for a year and expressed interest in transitioning to MMA, despite maintaining his innocence regarding performance-enhancing drugs.
Ryan Garcia says he’s serious about retirement and testing the waters in MMA.
This past Thursday, Garcia accepted a 1-year suspension from the New York State Athletic Commission. The suspension followed a failed drug test for his April 20 bout against Devin Haney.
As part of the settlement, Garcia’s win was overturned to a No-Contest. He also forfeited his $1.1 million fight purse.
In response, Garcia went on an emotional tirade on social media. He claimed he never took performance-enhancing drugs and announced his retirement from boxing.
Even with some time to cool down, the 25-year-old star is sticking to it. “I’m retiring for a year,” Garcia told TMZ Sports.
“So they don’t get the [satisfaction] for suspending me cause it’s bull.” He added, “I never took steroids in my life. They can all suck weiners.”
Garcia also originally teased the possibility of fighting in the UFC. But “satisfaction” or not, he’s still suspended for a year.
This means that even if he were to move to MMA, “King Ryan” would still be forced to adhere to the NYSAC ruling. Nonetheless, Garcia maintains he’s serious about possibly branching out beyond boxing.
“I like ‘Suga’ Sean [O’Malley] cause he defended me,” Garcia said. “But if he really wants to run it in the UFC, I’ll run it.”
“Or bare knuckle. Shit, I’m ready to fight anyone at this point.”
Over the past year, both Garcia and O’Malley have hinted at a possible matchup. Garcia even contended he’d be happy to do so under MMA rules.