SAN ANTONIO — Normally, when you are two days away from weigh-ins and three days before your fight, the competitor is a little on edge because you are shedding those last couple of pounds, and you're anxious in a good way to go into combat and show the world the hard work that's been put in during training camp.
Not Ryan Garcia, who returns to action for the first time in a little over 15 months on Saturday, as he takes on Emmanuel Tagoe in a 139-pound catchweight bout, which can be seen live across the world on DAZN.
Garcia was kind enough to give DAZN a peek behind the curtain three days before his highly anticipated return to the ring.
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Boxers are cut from a different breed. They do something every day people don't do. They risk their lives every time they step through those ropes. Humans aren't made to get hit in the head and the body. Weight cutting affects how you feel when you absorb those blows in the actual fight. A little less than 72 hours before he officially tips the scales, Garcia is already on point and made weight and knows he could have even made the 135-pound lightweight limit. He's doesn't eat a big breakfast anyway, and Wednesday was no different.
"I had yogurt," Garcia told DAZN.
"But I don't eat a big breakfast anyway, even when I'm not losing weight. I had steak last night with asparagus, had three coffees, and drank a bunch of water. I made weight yesterday (Tuesday). I was 139 yesterday. In reality, I could have probably made 135. My body's so strong right now, and I'm feeling great. This is probably the best I've ever felt. I could probably punch through a wall right now."
Fighters have different routines while they are in their hotel rooms getting ready for fight night. Before I met with Garcia, he was doing an abs workout. He didn't reveal the secret to his looking like a Greek Adonis.
"There's a secret to the sauce that I won't share," Garcia jokingly said.
Typically, Garcia likes to play video games to keep his mind and spirit away from the rigors of fight week and have some fun. His video game console of choice is the Nintendo Switch. But the video game system didn't make the journey this time as it wasn't packed. So instead, Garcia points the finger at his brother and best friend, Sean. A friendly banter ensues between the two.
"We don't want to get more into what he forgot," Garcia said after a long pause. "But it's ok. He's still a beast."
"In my defense, I asked him, ‘Where's the Switch’? He goes, ‘It's all packed up in the Louis Vuitton bag, controllers everything’. I look to my right; it's exactly where he said it was. Ok, it's all packed. I don't need to worry about that," Sean tells DAZN.
Another member of Garcia's team chimes in, points at the Nike bookbag on the ground and opens up the zipper.
"All you have to do (is) look. One, two, three, four. It's not in here. Four seconds," the member of Team Garcia says to DAZN.
When the Nintendo Switch is remembered and makes the trek to his fights, Garcia has a preference for games he likes to play to distract him.
"Mario Golf, we f— with that," Garcia said. "We love Mario Kart, Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Super Smash Brothers. Those are probably the top five."
The primary characters in Mario video games are Mario, Luigi, Princess, Bowser, and Toad. But, for the 23-year-old, there's one character and one only that he plays with because he can relate to him.
"Mario," Garcia bluntly said. "Balanced character. He's always average in the game, but if you take him to another level, he could be at the top. So to me, that's the best for me.
"(I) take myself to a new level. I got balance. I got speed, power, timing, everything, and I take it to another level."
During our conversation, Garcia had his entire team with him, which runs about 15 people. Being in the room, you could see it's the true definition of a team. They are joking around, laughing with and at each other like a family. They all care about each other deeply, with the main focus on making sure Ryan has everything he needs and is 100 prepared for fight night. With no video games to keep him away from the mental aspect of boxing, Garcia's had a chance to do some self-reflection.
Most of Team Garcia is the same as his last fight against Luke Campbell, led by his parents, Henry and Lisa. New parts of the team include his chef Geo, sparring partner, friend, and top prospect Nikita Ababiy, and famed Hall of Fame trainer Joe Goossen. Because of those additions and people he already had around him, Garcia believes this group is the best recipe for the success and heights he wants to reach.
"I have a great team around me," Garcia passionately said.
"The new addition of Nikita was just a different vibe to the team. He just brought that spunk to that swag. He's good to be around because he has a good energy to have around you in a camp. He's a bad motherf—er. Anything I did, he did. He always wanted to be part of the workouts in anything I did with my coach. He was just always in it. He always wanted to go do whatever I did and stay by my side. If I was like running at 12, He said, ‘Why didn’t you invite me? I'm gonna go’. So just to have another guy like that around me, I've never had that.
"Usually, I'm always a lone wolf when I'm training. Don't really like people around me. I almost didn't let Nikita around me because I'm always like, ‘I don't know’. Like, ‘Why would I want somebody near me’? When my dad convinced me, it was the best decision ever. I had a friend that wanted to do this s—, really wanted it, and we were kind of in the same position. It was just a good feeling. Everything happens for a reason. Nikita was a very good part of the team, and I really want him around my team all the time.
"It's a brotherhood in training now. This camp had everything set for me. My mom, always there (for) every fight. My dad is definitely my foundation. My brother, Sean, of course, can't forget him. He's another genius when it comes to the ring. He's very smart. He's my second brain. He understands the game very well. I think he's going to be one of the best trainers in the world one day without a doubt. I think just by years and years, he's going to get even better.
"I have a very solid team now. My security, Luke, Lupe, Geo. Geo came in after my other chef fell out. He's a very busy guy. He has his own clients. So for him to come down and take the job right on and drop a lot of things he had to drop was very honorable, and I thank him for that. Building a strong foundation of a team is important."
Sitting and turning left to Garcia while conversing, it's hard not to notice his hair. It's shiny, perfectly in place, and doesn't move at all for the time we are talking. It was difficult not to just stare at it the entire time instead of focusing on what Garcia was saying. How does one keep their hair like that?
"Marlowe Pomade," Garcia boastfully said.
"I do use that a lot. Surprisingly, people don't understand lotion really does make your hair adds this nice texture and glow to it. I mean, that's a secret thing. I don't want to give too much. But add a little lotion to your hair, I swear, is the best thing you can do."
We head off to the open workout, and Garcia didn't do too much, so Tagoe wouldn't be able to get any ideas and attempt to implement anything come Saturday night. Instead, he signed autographs and took pictures with the fans who attended the workout. Before that, Garcia and Tagoe nearly came to blows during their faceoff.
Garcia looked like he would walk away when he and Tagoe kept jawing at one another. Someone was trying to let Garcia cool and simmer things down, but the 23-year-old had none of it.
"What you going to do?', Garcia shouted at Tagoe.
"We can do it right now. You ain't going to do s—. Look at you. Look at you."
It was hard to hear what Tagoe was saying to Garcia, who continued the verbal assault.
"Keep talking that," Garcia continued.
"What are you going to do right now? It's about to be game over. I promise you that."
Luckily, nothing physical ensued, and Garcia saved his best shots for fight night as he continues his ascent toward becoming boxing's next megastar.