Is There a Boxer Known to Be a Mental Health Advocate?

Mental Health troubles can affect all of us at some point in our lives, including the most high-profile sports stars. In recent times, Tyson Fury has spoken about his own struggles, which has seen him recover and now be in camp to face Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship. 

Rightfully so, there has been plenty of attention on athletes’ mental health, with teams and organisations hiring specialists to assist their athletes. The sports performance field has expanded greatly over the years with new university and college programs opening up. Nursing programs have started to include aspects of mental health. Potential students look to nursing essay writing service to assist in their applications.

Tyson Fury is certainly an outspoken advocate. There is one other boxer who has become a mental health advocate: Ryan Garcia.

Ryan Garcia Mental Health Struggles

Mental Health Struggles for Ryan Garcia

Garcia seemingly has the world at his feet with a large social media following and seemingly plenty of money to go with it. Following his impressive victory over British fighter Luke Campbell, “KingRy” was due to defend his newly won WBC interim lightweight title against Dominican former WBA regular super featherweight champion Javier Fortuna. 

The fight was scheduled to take place on July 9, 2021, with the winner becoming the mandatory challenger to WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney. Soon after the fight confirmation, Garcia announced he was withdrawing from the bout against Fortuna to “manage my health and well being”.

Garcia spoke to Dan Canobbio on the Inside Boxing Podcast regarding the struggles he endured: “When I was deep in it, I didn’t think I was gonna live, I was so depressive and I went to bad habits. I started drinking, and I never drink, ever. But I was getting drunk all the time. I wanted to kill myself at one point.” 

He then described how deep his feelings went: “It was so bad, so intense, that I thought maybe I just rather not be here,'” Garcia said. “I didn’t understand what was going on. I needed professional help.“

Present Day for Garcia

Speaking out on his problems, Garcia received a lot of well wishes and respect from many people around the world. Speaking out as a celebrity is a vital tool in normalising mental health. Despite losing to Gervonta Davis on April 22, 2023, He has bounced back with an impressive stoppage win against Oscar Duarte.

Whatever the future holds for Garcia in the ring, his influence in the mental health sphere is difficult to quantify. But with over 10 million followers on Instagram and him being so open on social media, it’s safe to say he has helped normalise mental health struggles for many people.