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Ryan Garcia revealed that he broke a sparring partner's jaw while preparing for his April 9 bout against Emmanuel Tagoe after his March 29 media workout.
Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) made the startling statement to Fight Hub TV at his gym in San Diego County.
The former WBC Interim Lightweight Champion, Garcia, told Fight Hub TV:
"I was sparring this guy, and I caught him with a short hook, and I split his jaw in half. And then they had to stop it. It was just literally, 'scrhhh.' And then they took him to ambulance."
Watch Ryan Garcia's full interview with Fight Hub TV:
Garcia's description of breaking his sparring partner's jaw could make Tagoe leary of his chances against Garcia. Tagoe (32-1, 15 KOs) is coming from Ghana to challenge 'KingRy' at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX.
Tagoe hasn't lost since his 2004 professional boxing debut. He last fought in 2020 against Mason Menard. Tagoe won the bout via majority decision. His 17-month layoff could be a problem going into his matchup with Garcia.
Garcia stopped Luke Campbell in his last outing in January 2021. He faced adversity early when Campbell dropped him in round two. 'KingRy' recovered and sent Campbell to the canvas in round 7, which ended the fight. It was arguably the best performance of Garcia's career.
Ryan Garcia says he has been knocking out sparring partners
Fans were surprised when Garcia withdrew from a scheduled contest with Javier Fortuna. He cited mental health issues but was set to return in November against Jojo Diaz. He had to pull out of that fight with an injured wrist that required surgery.
It looks like Garcia is ready to make his return under the tutelage of new trainer Joe Goossen. Garcia worked with Canelo Alvarez's trainer, Eddy Reynoso, but Garcia and Reynoso parted ways.
Alvarez was critical of Garcia in October. He told Complex (H/T Bleacher Report) that Garcia was "wasting his talent."
Regardless, his new trainer seems pleased. 'KingRy' received high praise from Goossen:
"Joe goes, 'Man, I've never seen anybody consistently knockout people as much as you do ever in the history of me ever training somebody.'"
It appears that Garcia's training for Tagoe is going well. He has been out of boxing for a while, but he's still popular. NYFight's Gayle Falkenthal's picture of Garcia's press row is evidence of that.
