Ryan Garcia at odds with DAZN, claims he’s underpaid

Baby-faced bruiser Ryan Garcia recently announced that his planned July 4th return to action “most likely” wouldn’t happen, citing “a lot of bulls*** [he’s] not going to get into right now.” Four days later, he’s decided to get into the bulls***, sitting down for a lengthy interview with Sports Illustrated about his plans and issues with DAZN.

“I’m not getting respect in the business matters. They promote me as one of the biggest names that they have got. I’m not feeling the extra love that they claim I’m getting shown. I’m one of their most viewed fighters. Guaranteed, top three. I’m getting the views. I’m getting the clicks. More than anyone but Canelo [Alvarez] and [Anthony] Joshua. Where’s my love?”

The alleged bovine excrement, as it turns out, was the purse offer, just $200,000, which Golden Boy told Garcia was all DAZN would be willing to pay him:

“That’s bullshit. Why am I being held back financially? What is the problem here? Why is DAZN giving out big numbers to guys fighting nobodies? It’s fucked up how I’m being treated. I’m not asking for $100 million. Just give me the check I deserve. How am I one of the biggest fighters in the world and I get bigger paychecks outside of boxing?”

Golden Boy’s Eric Gomez claims that the sum is above the minimum stipulated by Garcia’s (20-0, 17 KO) contract, and cited the pandemic and “arguably the worst financial downfall since the Great Depression,” also noting that Garcia’s fights are worth less without a gate, where Garcia does really well normally.

Despite this kerfuffle, “Kingry” is adamant that he wants the toughest fights available:

“I’m done with the whole, ‘Well they work with this promoter or this [network] so it can’t happen.’ I want to break down barriers in boxing. I want to break down those doors. I don’t care about losing. How many times did Michael Jordan lose before he won his first championship? It wasn’t about the number of losses with Sugar Ray Leonard or Tommy Hearns. That marketing strategy worked for Floyd [Mayweather], but why has everyone been brainwashed to think that you have to stay undefeated? I’m a bad ass fighter who isn’t afraid to lose.”

The 21-year-old has scored three consecutive finishes in less than four cumulative rounds since a tougher-than-expected majority decision over Carlos Morales. His most recent effort, an 80-second one-punch wipeout of Francisco Fonseca, was meant to set up a step-up bout with co-main event winner Jorge Linares, but the Venezuelan veteran is currently stuck in his adopted home country of Japan. Hector Tanajara and Mercito Gesta had been bandied about as potential Garcia foes before he decided he wasn’t fighting for a measly $200,000.