By: Sean Crose
Ryan Garcia may not be having a planned exhibition bout with Rukiya Anpo, although the fight was just announced. Indeed, a press conference was held today in Los Angeles by RIZIN, which is one of the entities organizing the exhibition. Golden Boy honcho, Oscar De La Hoya, however, was quick to weigh in on the matter. “Golden Boy Promotions has exclusive rights to Ryan Garcia’s fights,” De La Hoya stated on social media. “The organizers of this event 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.”
At the moment, it is uncertain whether the December 30th event will go down or not. Garcia posted a face palm emoji on X (formerly Twitter), likely in response to the announcement from Golden Boy. The relationship between Garcia and Golden Boy has frequently been shaky. The series of events that went down on Tuesday showcased that the relationship is likely shaky right now. With a one year suspension from the New York State Athletic Commission still keeping Garcia from fighting in the pro ranks, a high profile exhibition makes sense. Yet now it seems Golden Boy has slammed on the brakes for the time being.
Anpo, a retired kickboxing champion, no doubt has a career high payday in his future should the exhibition against Garcia come to fruition. A champion in his own right during his career, Anpo entered today’s press conference in heel mode, calling out Garcia for his controversial reputation. “We all know Ryan Garcia’s issues,” he claimed, “missing weight, alcohol.” He then took to crumpling up a piece of paper he was reading from and tossing it at Garcia.
“It’s waking me up,” Garcia stated afterward. “I just kind of looked to this like, it’s going to be a little exhibition, I’m going to enjoy the ride, enjoy the festivities in Japan, it’s New Year’s, but now it’s kind of waking the dragon up.” Things had clearly moved on from being lighthearted. “It’s making me a little excited to put a whooping on this dude,” Garcia continued. “I’m looking to knock him out now. Before, I thought it was going to be a relaxing, family event. It’s not anymore.”
Garcia certainly knows how to lay a beating on an opponent. Whether he’ll now have the opportunity to do so against Anpo remains to be seen.