Ryan Garcia, recovering from a hand injury requiring surgery, has postponed his fight against Rukiya Anpo to 2025 but remains committed to boxing in Japan after serving a one-year suspension for a failed drug test.
Ryan Garcia’s got a bit of a hiccup. He’s heading for surgery to fix an injury that yanked him off the Rizin card set for New Year’s Eve. But hey, he’s adamant—he’ll still face Rukiya Anpo in 2025.
During Rizin Decade on December 31, the Japanese promotion shared a statement from Garcia. Just hours after Anpo snagged a decision win over Sina Karimian, his replacement, Garcia assured fans he’d be back in Japan next year.
“I’m really sorry, folks,” Garcia admitted. “I had to postpone the fight ’cause of a hand injury during training. My right wrist’s in trouble, docs say surgery’s a must. Gotta take some time to heal.”
He expressed gratitude too. “Big thanks to Fanmio and Rizin for the chance. I’m still pumped about fighting in Japan soon. Once I’m all healed up, we’ll pick things up in 2025.”
Garcia’s not backing down either. “Anpo, I’m coming back to finish what we started,” he declared. “He’ll eat his words, guaranteed! Just need some downtime first, but when I return? It’ll be explosive.”
Oh, by the way—Garcia’s currently on a one-year suspension due to a failed drug test. That little mishap overturned his victory over Devin Haney. Meanwhile, Anpo clinched a decision win Tuesday night in Japan and got into quite the scuffle mid-fight. Even the ref caught some punches!