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Eddie Hearn has commented on what he called the ‘heartwarming’ return of American welterweight Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20KO), following a turbulent few months that culminated in a 12-month ban from the sport.
Garcia received the suspension after failing two drug tests—one before and one after his bout with Devin Haney, during a period in which he appeared to be suffering heavily with mental health struggles.
Garcia returns this Friday at the inaugural Ring Magazine event in the United States, facing Rolando Romero (16-2, 13KO) in the centre of Times Square, New York, marking his first fight since April 2024.
Eddie Hearn Says Ryan Garcia Is A Huge Asset To Boxing
The return of ‘King Ry’ this Friday will be seen by many as a blessing, given the troubled state he was in around the time of his bout with Devin Haney. But twelve months on, he appears to be a changed man—focused and determined to prove a point.
“I actually couldn’t believe what I saw, I couldn’t believe he was in that fight,” said Eddie Hearn speaking to Ariel Helwani. “The first press conference I had for Haney-Garcia, I’ve seen fighters lose their mind, I’ve seen the signs and I can see them quite early, I saw him with him at that press conference and seen he ain’t right and it got worse and worse.”
“He made his mistakes and paid the price,” added Hearn. “I’m so happy for him. Theres something really heartwarming about seeing someone like Ryan Garcia who’s such an asset to the sport of boxing, to see him back in that state after what he went through I think he should be unbelievable respected.”
“He was done, I was actually looking at him thinking you’re never going to fight again, I actually thought something terrible was going to happen to you, in that stage anything could happen and I think he should really be applauded for the way he’s come back.”
Eddie Hearn believes that social media pressure surrounding Garcia and his career is what ultimately lead to him suffering outside of the ring but is pleased to see him return this weekend in a headline slot in New York.
“The Ryan Garcia I used to know was this young, happy, fresh faced kid. He’s a kid that was sitting on twitter all day (reading negative comments), next thing one thing leads to another, but it’s really good to see him back. He’s a great fighter.”
