BEVERLY HILLS, California – Suspended star Ryan Garcia has a return date – only, it’s not for a professional fight.
Garcia will take on Japanese kickboxer Rukiya Anpo on December 30 in Tokyo in an eight-round exhibition at two minutes a round and a 153lbs catchweight.
Once the spectacle is over, Garcia, 24-1 (20 KOs), will turn the page for a spring return after his one-year suspension is served on April 20. Following his fight against Devin Haney this year, Garcia tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug ostarine. Garcia's majority decision victory was overturned to a no contest as a result of the mishap, and the 29-year-old was suspended for a year.
Garcia is already eyeing a handful of opponents once he’s eligible to return.
“I want the big fights against anybody that is going to bring a big event,” Garcia told BoxingScene and other media on Tuesday after his press conference announcing the exhibition against Anpo.
“Gervonta Davis, Teofimo Lopez, Jose Valenzuela. All of those options seem good to me and intrigue me. I don't fight anymore for those in-between fights, but if I have to and my team feels that is the way to go, then I will do that, too. I feel that at the right fight, I can go down to 140lbs. One-forty to 147, that's kind of what I am looking at. One-fifty-four, no, not yet. That's not going to be my ideal weight class.”
Garcia also insisted he wanted to face Haney in a rematch to settle the score.
“Run it back the same way, just a higher weight class,” said Garcia. “You have to ask him about that.”
Shortly after the press conference, Garcia's promoter, Golden Boy, announced that the exhibition against Anpo couldn’t happen without its permission.
The statement read: “Golden Boy Promotions has exclusive rights to Ryan Garcia’s fights. The organizers of this event [Garcia vs Anpo] have acknowledged as such and have agreed in writing that our sign-off is needed for this event to occur. As no such sign-off has been given, as of today there is no event with Ryan Garcia.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on , , and , through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via .