Ryan Garcia is ready for a cross-sport spectacle.
The train keeps on rolling for the continually growing boxing star, Garcia, after his big upset win over Devin Haney (watch highlights) this past weekend (April 20, 2024). With the world doubting him in the build up because of all his questionable and concerning antics, Garcia outperformed all expectations.
Ahead of the match, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight champion, Sean O’Malley, expressed interest in eventually boxing. A match up against Garcia has been thrown out there and both entertained it and continue to after “The King” silenced his critics. According to “Sugar,” UFC has let him know the idea is possible.
“They told me, ‘You can do a boxing fight, 100 percent, if it makes us enough money,’” O’Malley said on his TimboSugarShow podcast (h/t MMA Fighting). “So, the option’s there, it just has to be able to make enough money. But Ryan being a f—king freak like that, you need two A-sides to make a f—king Floyd [Mayweather]-Conor [McGregor] fight.
“I’m not there yet,” he concluded. “I’ve still got to become bigger. Two more f—king sick performances and then we’re talking about being able to do whatever the f—k we want.”
Already confident he could take O’Malley in mixed martial arts (MMA), Garcia wasted no time accepting the idea of a boxing match against the UFC champion.
“RAINBOW CACA BRAIN WANTS TO BOX,” Garcia tweeted with an edited image of the two boxing. “BE PREPARED TO BLEED RAINBOW.”
“MAN BUN,” he said on Instagram with the same image. “Slash Connor Clone Wants a boxing match hmmm I wanted MMA but let’s do it. That’s my brothers name b—ch @lilrushgee now I have to destroy you, LIL PONY CANNOT DEFEAT ME.”
While Garcia awaits his next move in boxing, O’Malley is expected to be challenged by top contender, Merab Dvalishvili. The pair has had a handful of back-and-forths over the years, and if not Dvalishvili, O’Malley has mentioned Featherweight titlist, Ilia Topuria. However, the latter likely has Max Holloway coming back for the throne.