Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20 KO’s) has become the second anti-doping violator to be highlighted in yesterday’s press conference a week after another PED offender, Conor Benn (23-0, 14 KO’s), featured in a launch press conference announcing his upcoming April 26th fight against Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3, 25 KO’s). Following weeks of speculation, Garcia has been confirmed to be facing Rolando “Rolly” Romero (16-2, 13 KO’s).
The two American fighters will serve in the co-main event prior to the headlining bout featuring former WBC super lightweight (140 lbs) champion Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KO’s) and former world champion Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-2, 18 KO’s). The event, which will be promoted by various promotions including Matchroom, Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, will be officially sponsored by Riyadh Season on May 2nd at Times Square in New York.
Interestingly, both matches will be featured at welterweight (147 lbs), marking the official debut of Haney, Romero and Garcia in the weight division, while Ramirez is set to make his 147-pound return almost 10 years after several years in the division.
Garcia’s recent appearance is problematic, to say the least, showing what is a clear aloofness to malignant behavior by the sport’s most influential stakeholders; in particular Riyadh Season and General Entertainment Authority (GEA) chairman Turki Alalshikh who has been instrumental in creating these fights.
In fact, it falls to reason Alalshikh is the deciding factor in arranging the match-ups that will see both Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn showcase their abilities without having suffered the needed repercussions to highlight their violations in using PEDs.
With Alalshikh being arguably the most influential individual in boxing, exemplified through the immensely popular Riyadh Season events, a bar has been set for any behavior that would be considered reprehensible in other sports including bigotry and PED-use.
Garcia, 26, is currently still serving a suspension from the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) ― which will expire on April 20th this year ― after drug tests uncovered the presence of Ostarine in his system during his April 20th fight against Devin Haney.
Remarkably, Ryan Garcia’s suspension was a battle of itself, with the NYSAC deviating from the normal procedure to suspend fighters after an A-sample test comes out positive to instead wait roughly a month to see determine Garcia’s B-sample would show the same result.
In the lead-up to Garcia’s suspension, Ryan Garcia warranted further repercussions after weeks of denying the intentional use of Ostarine, spreading misinformation and violating another set of rules that should have seen him face a thorough ban of at least two years. Notably, Garcia’s behavior prior to his suspension was erratic and offensive and continued even after his suspension when he launched a vile bigoted rant towards African-Americans and Muslims.
Unfortunately, Turki Alalshikh, despite his contributions to boxing, has shown an inclination towards bias that has become widely overlooked in the media and allowed the likes of Ryan Garcia to be showcased as if no violations have occurred. Following his acquisition of The Ring Boxing Magazine, there is further a sense of reluctance from credible journalists when it comes to criticizing Alalshikh; as evident when the GEA chairman’s favoritism towards Hamzah Sheeraz in his eventual controversial draw against Carlos Adames went completely unmentioned by The Ring’s own stellar cast of journalists and writers.
