Boxing is the theater of the unexpected, but here’s a new one.
On Wednesday afternoon, rising star Ryan Garcia, it seems, dealt with a situation that shook him up, more than anything he’s experienced in a ring.
Check out this post on the Garcia Twitter feed:
So, that post suggests that “someone” made a call, and told authorities, in California, that someone had a gun, and that person was at the gym where Garcia (age 21; 20-0 record, with 17 KOs) was training today, it looks like.
The Tweet suggests that Garcia feels like the call was made as a “prank,” and that the incident shook him up.
A short time later, another post to the Garcia account:
I asked someone at Golden Boy Promotions if this was legit, a few hours after the first post dropped, and that individual said this was the first they’ve heard of it.
I also messaged Henry Garcia, Ryan’s dad, to confirm or deny the veracity of those posts, and will insert a reply when furnished.
Garcia scored his career best win Feb. 14, when he dropped and stopped Francisco Fonseca.
That Valentine’s Day surprise ran on DAZN.
NOTE: In this age, outlets can be too quick to run with a “story,” which in fact turns out to not be a story, or one radically different that what was initially presumed. Everyone should be patient, and wait for more details and clarity to emerge regarding this situation.
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Founder/editor Michael Woods got addicted to boxing in 1990, when Buster Douglas shocked the world with his demolition of the then-impregnable Mike Tyson.
The Brooklyn-based journalist has covered the sport since for ESPN The Magazine, ESPN.com, Bad Left Hook and RING. His journalism career started with NY Newsday in 1999.
Michael Woods is also an accomplished blow by blow and color man, having done work for Top Rank, DiBella Entertainment, EPIX, and for Facebook Fightnight Live, since 2017.