Ryan Garcia looks thick for his December 30 exhibition match against Rukiya Anpo in Japan. Garcia will fight Anpo in 19 days in Tokyo in a match that will be shown on Fanmio PPV for $49.99.
In a video clip, Ryan had his pants pulled up to hide his Fury-esque spare tire that wasn’t there seven months earlier. He’s obviously been high on the hog since April 20th, and we’re seeing visible results.
The advantage of Anpo
Garcia has packed on the pounds for this fight, which could slow him down because he doesn’t look as fast as he did when he was lighter. These two-minute laps will be quick and could work in Anpo’s favor. Looks in great shape. Anpo has perfect aim for his punches. Aim for Ryan’s midsection.
In a workout clip this week, Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) has his pants pulled up high in what appears to be a move to hide his flabby stomach. It’s a move often seen with middle-aged men like Tyson Fury when they pull up their trunks to hide their bellies. Seeing Ryan resort to this move is shocking.
He appears to weigh around 160 lbs, but carries around 20 extra lbs of fat from the lanky fighter who beat Oscar Duarte a year ago on December 2, 2023.
Garcia has been making weight since before his last fight against Devin Haney on April 20th. He came in 3.2 lbs overweight at 143.2 lbs and will pay $600,000.
The extra weight seemed to prevent Garcia from fighting hard in every round, and he took several breaks to recharge his batteries. He could get away with that against Haney because he’s not a puncher or a pressure fighter. But if Ryan is so against one of the busy fighters, he will be defeated.
The extra weight Ryan, 26, has put on doesn’t appear to be muscle, and that could be bad for him. The 6’0″ Anpo looks to be taking this eight-round exhibition match seriously, and that could be a problem for an out-of-form Garcia.
We saw how Anpo beat 45-year-old Manny Pacquiao in their three-fight showdown on July 28 in Saitama, Japan. Pacquiao earned every penny he earned in that match because he took a lot of heavy punches from the 29-year-old Anpo.
The future of Garcia
Ryan has to lose weight when his suspension ends in April 2025 because he can’t look like he does now. He doesn’t have the frame to wrestle at 154 and might not be tough enough to fight at 147, either. He can potentially do well at 147 against lesser fighters like Mario Barrios and Conor Benn, but he will falter against Jaron Ennis and Eimantas Stanionis.
