Ryan Garcia has proclaimed he will still fight WBC super-lightweight champion Devin Haney on April 20 – despite his worrying social media posts over recent days.
Several concerning posts have been shared from Garcia’s social media pages since last week, with the 25-year-old’s account appearing to allege that he was raped by a family member at the age of two, has photographic proof that aliens exist, Elon Musk is the antichrist and that he was previously a witness to ‘human trafficking’.
Garcia sparked further fears in the boxing community on Sunday when a video posted to his Instagram and X accounts – which showed a glimpse of an unidentifiable man in a house – claimed his ‘throat had been slit’ in the caption. The post also contained several satanic references.
One day later Garcia took to social media himself to explain the situation, suggesting his phone has been hacked and that he is being ‘taken advantage of’ while reassuring fans he is safe and well.
His account then shared several since-deleted posts surrounding demons’ and ‘UFOs’, before claiming he is ‘being heavily attacked’ and saying ‘before I go, I want to release everything’, while he also claimed his ‘own people were trying to take him to the psych ward’.
Ryan Garcia has insisted his fight against WBC super-lightweight champion Devin Haney next month is still on despite worrying posts shared from the 25-year-old’s social media account
Garcia has sparked fears in the boxing community and beyond with some of his posts
The 25-year-old has shared several concerning posts on social media over the past week
On Wednesday, the American vowed to refrain from non-boxing social media posts and underwent a boxing Q&A with fans on social media.
And, posting in the early hours of Thursday morning on X, he insisted his fight against Haney in Brooklyn next month is still set to go ahead.
This comes despite concerned fans and boxing insiders calling for the bout to be postponed due to his recent behavior.
Posting on X in the early hours of Thursday morning, Garcia’s account said: ‘Great talking today headed to sleep training starts early tmmr,’ as another post added: ‘For this fight I’m going Goku.’
Garcia’s latest posts also come after he shared his thoughts about his upcoming fight late on Wednesday.
He said: ‘I Ryan Garcia, will not be speaking or tweeting or writing anything other then My Fight “Boxing” and Sports. All topics of discussion will be discussed after my fight. 5 weeks of focus. You have my word I’m locked in I’ll see you 4-20.’
Garcia has previously spoken candidly about his struggles with mental health, admitting to having suicidal thoughts during a recent hiatus from boxing.
After returning in 2022, last year he was handed his first professional defeat in a stoppage loss against bitter rival Gervonta Davis.
His opponent Haney, however, has been adamant that their world-title contest is very much still on and has accused Garcia of ‘playing crazy’ to promote their fight.
In a now-deleted post on X, the two-weight king wrote about one of Garcia’s recent outbursts: ‘The fight is happening April 20th.. he’s just playing crazy to “sell it” which is weird because it’s people who are actually crazy out there but he’s just acting for attention.’
There is no love lost between the pair, who are set to collide in the ring for a seventh time next month after six amateur meetings, with the scores level at three apiece.
Garcia shared further posts as he pledged to focus on boxing and said the fight will go ahead
Haney accused his bitter rival of simply ‘playing crazy’ to promote their upcoming contest
Meanwhile, Henry Garcia, the 24-1 fighter’s dad, said on Sunday saying that while his son was just trolling followers, there were larger issues at play.
His ex-wife, Andrea Celina, also claimed he ‘may seem fine but he is not’ amid concerns for his safety, while suggesting he is being ‘heavily oppressed’.
Garcia and Celina, who have two children together, announced their divorce in January just days after the birth of their second child.
For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support