Seven months after losing to Gervonta Davis via seventh-round knockout, Ryan Garcia acknowledged that he had a rib ailment when he entered the ring that evening. In the seventh round, Davis delivered a body blow to Garcia’s right side that caused him to go to one knee. Garcia lost via knockout with 1:44 remaining in the seventh round on April 22 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas after failing to respond to referee Thomas Taylor’s count.
The cameras on Showtime captured Garcia telling former trainer Joe Goossen that Davis struck him in the exact spot where he had been hurt during a sparring match two weeks before to his matchup with Davis.
Following Davis’ victory over Garcia, Mongolian two-time Olympian Tsendbaatar Erdenbat posted on social media that the Mongolian fighter had injured Garcia during a sparring session with a left hand to the body. In the most recent installment of his “The Last Stand” podcast, Garcia told Showtime’s Brian Custer that he was hospitalized for a rib injury, which also prevented him from fully training before facing Davis in their Showtime Pay-Per-View main event.
Garcia admitted to Custer that he had suffered a separated rib during sparring. It was like my first time sparring, and I was dehydrated. I wasn’t even struck severely. I couldn’t even run after my rib suddenly [sunk] in, so I had to go to the hospital and stay there for a while. I was unable to take action. Two weeks or so had passed before the fight. There was nothing within my power to act. I made the decision to stay put. Too much time and effort had been invested in this campaign to allow it to occur. I didn’t intend to leave.
The rehydration clause in his contract prevented the 25-year-old Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs), who will face Oscar Duarte on Saturday night in Houston, from weighing more than 146 pounds at a second-day weigh-in the morning of their fight. Garcia also attributed his lackluster physical condition on fight night to this clause. On April 22, Garcia’s weight in the morning was 144.9 pounds, which was a little bit more than Davis’s 144.1. Garcia also consented to a 136-pound catch weight, which he feels gave Davis (29- 0, 27 KOs) a major edge over him.
“I had everything stacked against me—I had to cut the weight on top of [the rib injury],” Garcia remarked. However, I made this not about me, so it wasn’t. I turned it into a sport. I have always had a deep affection for the sport, but I know that some people will say negative things about it. I too got tired of the sport.
Do not misunderstand; the sport was dull.
There were no fights going on. It was worthless. In a single night, I revived the energy that had before been absent. For a day or two, at least, it felt like boxing was back on fire in Vegas.
Finally, just before the bell rings once more, we get to experience the same thrill as with a Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya or Mayweather vs. Pacquiao match. That’s what I’ve always aimed to bring to the sport: that excitement. And even though I saw that as my chance, I took it. That’s why, once more, no one could tell me who I am or criticize me in any way. It is not what they would have done.
“And you see now in people, you know, negotiating for fights, when they bring up rehydration clause, nobody wants to do it, because they know really what it is. And if you don’t know boxing, then you don’t know actually what I did. Not only did I have to cut all that weight, and I been at 135, 132 since I was 17 years old. You know, and I’m not a small guy, so people that know boxing know the risk I took. You know, I put my health in danger.
I put a lotta things in danger, but I trusted that it’s gonna better off the sport and I’m gonna be OK because, you know, things are gonna work out and I made a bunch of money.
I performed well there. I gave my family money that was life-changing.
That can’t make me angry. But now the objective is completely different. That’s taken care of. I’m quite special. I was really wealthy. What comes next? My goal is to rank among the sport’s elite. My goal is to win a title and become the greatest in the sport. That is my primary objective.
Garcia’s fight against the hard-hitting Duarte will mark the start of his first defeat recovery. Most sports books have the Victorville, California native at least a 4-1 favorite to beat Duarte (26-1-1, 21 KOs). This is partly because Garcia is a significant step up in competition for Duarte, who is a lightweight who is fighting in the junior welterweight division for the first time. The main event of their 12-round fight will air on DAZN from Toyota Center, home of the Houston Rockets of the NBA. The undercard coverage on the streaming service is slated to begin at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT).