BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Ryan Garcia and Japanese kickboxer Rukiya Anpo met face-to-face for the first time Tuesday at the Beverly Hilton during the opening press conference. The exhibition competition will take place on December 30 in Tokyo.
For Garcia The suspended star is 24-1 (20 KOs), this is the first time he has faced the assembled media following his fight with Devin. Haney on April 20, a clash fraught with controversy after Garcia tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug Ostarine. as a result of infringement Garcia’s majority decision victory was then overturned to a no contest. And he was suspended for a year. Garcia knocked Haney down three times in the fight. And after that Haney filed a battery charge against Garcia.
Now Garcia is hitting the reset button. And try to stay away from the field by fighting Anpo, whose last fight was with Manny Pacquiao in July. Anpo has a kickboxing record of 27 wins (14 by knockout), 8 losses and 1 draw.
FanMio CEO Solomon Engel told BoxingScene that the exhibition will compete at 153 pounds in eight 2-minute rounds with 10-ounce gloves. Engel said FanMio’s Pay-per-View ($49.99) undercard There will be two former champions and a prominent boxing prospect in separate exhibition bouts. More than 40,000 fans are expected to attend the event at Saitama Super Arena.
“Apparently I have been suspended. So this is my only option to stay active,” Garcia told BoxingScene and other media after the press conference. “Obviously it must be an impure dietary supplement. That was the trace they found. It’s quite disappointing. But now I can’t do anything. I just have to go with the flow.
“I am organizing this exhibition because it is a big event and I need to stay in shape for a bigger fight. To keep that rhythm going This is my only path. So I found a way. Of course, you lose months of ruin. So let’s see how it goes. Then we decide… I’m just trying to adapt to different things. After a long break Get used to training, stay in shape and continue to improve for the big fight in April. That’s what me, Golden Boy, and the whole team plan to do. It depends on how I feel.”
A few hours after the press conference ended, Garcia’s promoter Golden Boy issue a statement An announcement that the anti-Anbo exhibition cannot take place without permission.
The statement reads: “Golden Boy Promotion has exclusive rights to the Ryan Garcia fight. The organizer of this event (Garcia vs. Anpo) is aware of this and has agreed in writing that a signature is required. ours to make this work happen As no such signature has been signed as of today, there are no incidents with Ryan Garcia.”
Garcia has not ruled out another exhibition fight after Anpo in preparation for further fights. He mentioned rematches with Haney and Gervonta Davis, as well as clashes with title holders Teofimo Lopez Jnr and Jose Valenzuela, as possible options for his professional comeback.
“Right now, I’m just enjoying this job. and try to make everything fully immersed and give a good performance to the fans,” Garcia said. “One thing about me is that we don’t make fights boring. It is an amazing opportunity fighting Anpo for me to expand my fan base in Japan.”
Manuk Agopyan is a sports journalist, author, and broadcast reporter whose credits include ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring. Magazine and more. He has written for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached at X (formerly Twitter)– Instagram– Linkedin and Youtubevia email manouk(dot)akopyan(at)gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com–
