'There is no event'… Ryan Garcia's RIZIN comeback fight in jeopardy as Oscar De La Hoya puts a block on ring return

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Ryan Garcia may be forced to wait even further for his next ring outing after his promoter appeared to shut down his planned return.

The popular boxing star is due to compete in an exhibition bout at RIZIN’s New Years Eve event against kickboxer Rukiya Anpo. Both men squared off in a press conference yesterday to promote the show, which is set for December 30 in Tokyo.

Garcia is currently serving a suspension after testing positive for a banned substance ahead of his win over Devin Haney back in April. But Golden Boy Promotions and Oscar De La Hoya were planning to let him compete in this exhibition to stay busy while unable to compete in legitimate boxing bouts.

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Ryan Garcia and Rukiya Anpo came head-to-head in heated press conference

On Tueday in Los Angeles, Ryan Garcia came head-to-head with Rukiya Anpo in the pair’s first face-off since announcing their bout. The kickboxer, who is much bigger than his rival, went the distance with Manny Pacquiao in an exhibition bout that many argue he won this summer.

Their staredown was an intense one, as Garcia insisted that he plans to get revenge for what was done to Pacquiao in their meeeting. "He tried to knock out Manny Pacquiao and it p***ed me off,” he told the gathered press.

“So now I have to teach him a lesson and teach him how to box. He's got some size and he's real excited right now, but I'm going to have to settle him down and knock him out. We're gonna put a whupping on this boy.

"His energy is definitely waking me up. I was ready to enjoy the festivities but now he's waking the dragon up. I'm definitely looking to knock him out now.”

Oscar De La Hoya declares Ryan Garcia’s comeback fight is off

However, it appears to be bad news for Garcia as his anticipated bout may be off as quickly as it was on. On Tuesday evening, Oscar De La Hoya took to social media to declare that he and Golden Boy Promotions have not yet signed off on the boxer competing.

While he refused to completely rule out the idea of the fight happening on December 30, he did declare that he has yet to fully agree to the terms. The RIZIN show will be co-promoted by Fanmio, who also staged Logan Paul vs Floyd Mayweather in 2021.

“Golden Boy Promotions has exclusive rights to Ryan Garcia's fights,” he wrote. “The organizers of this event have acknowledged as such and have agreed in writing that our sign-off is needed for this event to occur. As no such sign-off has been given, as of today there is no event with Ryan Garcia.”

Ryan Garcia believes Rukiya Anpo tried to use Manny Pacquiao to build up his own career

The key issue that Garcia seems to have with Anpo dates back to the Super RIZIN 3 clash he had with Pacquiao. Despite the fact that it was an un-scored exhibition, the much larger man pushed the pace and looked for a stoppage, which irked the American watching at ringside.

“He's a young fighter who was trying to make a statement against a legend in Manny Pacquiao,” Garcia said on Tueday. “That rubbed me the wrong way and now I'm here to show him someone in his prime with speed and power.

"I beat up a pound-for-pound champion, and you are not at that level. You're gonna get a whupping. You're not good, you're just big. I'm gonna knock you out in front of the world. You may think this is Hollywood, but this is for real. You're gonna see who the 'King' is.

"He's gonna be the bigger man in that ring. We had to give him something to give him hope. We're going to adjust and ultimately my skills are going to put me over the top. He's training like this is a world title fight, so we can't take this lightly.”

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