Ryan Garcia will not be returning to the ring in 2024.
The controversial boxing star has been forced to postpone his exhibition match with Japanese kickboxer Rukiya Anpo until early 2025 after suffering a wrist injury, the event’s organizers announced Sunday.
Garcia and Anpo were scheduled to meet in a 153-pound contest under the RIZIN Fighting Federation umbrella on Dec. 30th in Tokyo over eight two-minute rounds.
“I’ve been eagerly preparing for my upcoming exhibition fight in Japan, training hard in Dallas over the past several weeks,” Garcia said on social media. “Unfortunately, I sustained a hand injury during training and returned to Los Angeles to be seen by the doctor.”
The 26-year-old was examined by specialist Dr. Steven Shin, who recommended that Garcia refrain from sparring and not participate in boxing matches for several weeks.
Golden Boy, Garcia’s promoter, threw the exhibition into doubt in late November, asserting that Golden Boy had the exclusive rights to promote Garcia’s fights and hadn’t signed off on the event. It’s unclear whether this dispute was resolved before Garcia’s injury.
Garcia is unable to take part in a professional boxing match until April 2025 as a result of his one-year suspension by the New York State Athletic Commission for testing positive for ostarine in a pre-fight VADA test in the lead-up to his April 20 bout with Devin Haney.
Garcia instead agreed on an exhibition — which does not count as a pro boxing contest — with kickboxer Anpo to stay active and enter the ring before the end of 2024, which will no longer be possible.
Anpo, 29, isn’t a pugilist by trade. The Japanese fighter has 36 professional kickboxing bouts to his name, of which he won 27. Garcia was present for Anpo’s exhibition match with 45-year-old Manny Pacquiao in July and entered the ring afterward to call out Anpo. Although exhibition matches don’t have judges, many felt Anpo got the better of the former eight-division champion over the three rounds they shared.
Garcia isn’t a fan of younger boxers attempting to “beat up on” retired legends and recently explained to Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show” that this was his rationale for choosing Anpo as an opponent. For similar reasons, Garcia has social media sensation turned boxer Jake Paul at the top of his hit list following his 2025 bout with Anpo as a result of Paul’s dominant win over 58-year-old Mike Tyson.
