Oscar De La Hoya slams Ryan Garcia – ‘grow up’

The career of Ryan Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs) remains something of an enigma. Despite only being 27, discussions about what could have been are hard to avoid.

His last defeat to Rolly Romero has left an uncertain mark over what could be next for “Kingry,” but Oscar De La Hoya has appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show and sent a brutal two-word warning to Garcia when discussing his relationship with the Californian fighter.

Oscar De La Hoya delivers brutal two-word warning to Ryan Garcia

When asked about Ryan Garcia, De La Hoya said:

“I think Ryan needs to wake up.”

“I understand the whole mental health, it’s a serious, you know, it’s a serious thing. It really is. I know people who really are mentally ill, but there’s a line. There’s a fine line where you are just being a fucking asshole. Grow up,” added De La Hoya.

Ryan Garcia’s career recapped

Ryan Garcia’s career has been anything other than boring. Aside from his public mental health struggles, Garcia dazzled in the ring, stopping Luke Campbell and Javier Fortuna.

His first defeat came against Gervonta Davis, in what was a big event, but ultimately a dominating performance by Davis.

He bounced back from that defeat with wins against Oscar Duarte, before his highly impressive majority decision win over Devin Haney. The glory of this win did not last long before it was announced that Garcia had failed a VADA pre-fight and post-fight drug test, with Ostarine found in his urine. Garcia was fined $10,000, forced to forfeit his purse, and handed a 12-month ban, which expired in April ahead of his comeback fight against Romero. The win over Haney was subsequently declared a no contest.

The defeat to Romero was a huge setback, with Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix reporting about the hand injury Garcia sustained in training and the subsequent surgery after the Romero fight. Can Garcia return to world title contention?