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Ryan Garcia has been slammed after a leaked video allegedly shows him saying he was high. 

The concern over the video is the timing since it took place a day before his second kickoff presser in Vegas with Devin Haney for their April 20 fight. During the actual presser, Haney claimed Garcia was drunk, raising question marks over the fighter’s mental state. The following clip shows Garcia saying he was ‘high.’ Haney has responded by vowing to pull out of their second presser.

Outside of that, Garcia aims to retire once he secures wins against the big names. Garcia came up short in the biggest fight of his career when he faced Gervonta Davis. He was knocked out last year with a seventh-round body shot, giving him his first career defeat.

But he has a chance to move on from that when he faces Devin Haney. A victory gives Garcia his first world title and the chance to become one of boxing’s biggest superstars. By the looks of it, he has lined up a hit list to see him retire from boxing. 

“I want to end my career fighting Tank Davis for the second time at 140lbs, after I defeat Devin, Teofimo [Lopez], Shakur [Stevenson], and then Tank. And then I’m done,” Garcia said 

Garcia’s Mental State

The defeat to Davis was clouded by accusations that he was not his best physically. Garcia faced Davis at a 136-pound catchweight limit. This included a ten-pound rehydration clause, something which Garcia was vocal about.

The boxer was adamant about fighting at 140, but since he was the B-side, he had to make that concession to get the fight over the line. This was followed up by suggestions that Garcia had entered the fight after being harmed by a body shot in training camp. Haney pounced on the Garcia loss, saying Ryan quit, urging the boxer to hit back. 

“It’s just stupid. Okay, I want to see somebody cut all that weight, kill themselves, have blisters in your mouth because you’re so dehydrated, get in the ring, fight in front of everybody in the biggest fight of your life and get hit to the liver and you see what you’ll do. Don’t talk like that,” Garcia added

But before Garcia can think about those big names, he must come past Haney. Devin’s team did not rule out a first-round KO if Garcia came forward, forcing Ryan to accept their bet that he would retire if he was stopped in the first. Although the odds of that happening are slim, Garcia has put the pressure on himself to perform. 

“If I get knocked out in the first round, I’ll retire,” Garcia added 

Garcia’s Struggles

And yet, Garcia says he is a changed man following his recent mental health struggles. After beating Luke Campbell, which included getting off the canvas, Garcia took almost two years away from the sport due to mental health struggles. Garcia bounced back by facing Tank Davis and overcoming that loss to beat Oscar Duarte as he prepared to face Haney. Those struggles changed the boxer’s mentality. 

“After that Tank fight, it really changed me – it awoke my competitive spirit. When you’re going through a mental-health crisis, you don’t care about life, so me trying to get back into the sport and trying to be myself, it was a hard process. And then after the Tank fight, I woke up. I was like, ‘No I’m different. I’m about to go and destroy everybody now’,” Garcia stated

But if the video does prove Garcia was high, he will need to get himself in order to beat Haney.

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This article first appeared on BoxingNews.com and was syndicated with permission.

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