Ryan Garcia looks chunky for his 30th exhibition match against Rukiya Anpo in Japan. Garcia will fight Anpo in 19 days in Tokyo in a match that will be shown on Fanmio PPV for $49.99.
In a video clip, Ryan pulled his pants up high to hide his Fury-like spare tire that wasn’t there seven months earlier. He’s apparently been eating high on the hog since April 20, 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 did when he was lighter. These two minute rounds will be quick and can work in Anpo’s favor. He looks in good shape. Anpo has the perfect target for his punches. Aim for Ryan’s midsection.
In a workout this week, Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) pulled his pants up high in what appears to be a move to hide his flabby stomach. It’s a move you often see on middle-aged men like Tyson Fury when they pull up their trunks to hide their stomachs. It’s shocking to see Ryan use this move.
He looks like he weighs about 160 pounds, but he carries around an extra 20 pounds of fat from the lean fighter who beat Oscar Duarte a year ago on December 2, 2023.
Garcia has been making weight since before his last fight against Devin Haney on April 20th. He was 3.2 pounds overweight at 143.2 pounds and had to pay $600,000.
The extra weight seemed to prevent Garcia from fighting hard in each round, and he took many breaks to recharge his batteries. He can get away with it 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 will get knocked out.
The extra weight Ryan, 26, has put on doesn’t appear to be muscle mass, and that could be bad for him. Anpo, 6’0″, looks to be taking this eight-round exhibition bout seriously, and it could be trouble for an out-of-form Garcia.
We saw Anpo beat 45-year-old Manny Pacquiao in their three-round exhibition on July 28 in Saitama, Japan. Pacquiao earned every penny he got in that fight because he took a lot of heavy shots from the tough 29-year-old Anpo.
Garcia’s future
Ryan will have 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 may not be solid enough to fight at 147 either. He may do well at 147 against smaller fighters like Mario Barrios and Conor Benn, but he will fall apart against Jaron Ennis and Eimantas Stanionis.
