Ryan Garcia looks chunky for his December 30th exhibition match against Rukiya Anpo in Japan. Garcia will be fighting Anpo in 19 days in Tokyo in a match that will be shown on Fanmio PPV for $49.99.
In a video clip, Ryan’s got his trousers pulled up high to hide his Fury-esque spare tire that wasn’t there before seven months earlier. He’s obviously been eating high on the hog since April 20th, and we’re seeing the visible results.
Anpo’s Advantage
Garcia has packed on the pounds for this fight, which could slow him down because he doesn’t look as fast as he was when he was lighter. These two-minute rounds will be fast-paced and could work in Anpo’s favor. He looks in great shape. Anpo has got the perfect target for his punches. Aim for Ryan’s midsection.
In a workout clip this week, Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) has his trousers pulled up high in what appears to be a move to hide his flabby stomach. It’s a move you often see with middle-aged men like Tyson Fury when they pull their trunks up to hide their bellies. Seeing Ryan resort to this move is jarring.
He looks like he’s about 160 lbs, but he’s carrying around an extra 20 lbs of fat from the slender fighter that beat Oscar Duarte a year ago on December 2, 2023.
Garcia has been putting on weight since before his last fight against Devin Haney on April 20th. He came in 3.2 lbs overweight at 143.2 lbs and had to pay $600,000.
The extra weight seemed to prevent Garcia from fighting hard in every round, and he took many breaks to recharge his batteries. He could get away with that against Haney because he’s not a puncher or a pressure fighter. But if Ryan is like that against one of the busy fighters, he’ll get knocked out.
The extra weight that Ryan, 26, has put on doesn’t appear to be muscle, and that could be bad for him. Anpo, 6’0″, appears to be taking this eight-round exhibition match seriously, and that could be trouble for an out-of-shape Garcia.
We saw how Anpo beat up 45-year-old Manny Pacquiao in their three-round exhibition on July 28th in Saitama, Japan. Pacquiao earned every penny he got in that match because he took a lot of heavy shots from the wiry 29-year-old Anpo.
Garcia’s Future
Ryan will need to lose weight when his suspension ends in April 2025 because he can’t look like he does now. He doesn’t have the frame to fight at 154 and might not be sturdy enough to campaign at 147, either. He can potentially do well at 147 against lesser fighters like Mario Barrios and Conor Benn, but he’ll fall apart against Jaron Ennis and Eimantas Stanionis.
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