Ryan Garcia postpones exhibition bout vs. Anpo due to wrist injury
Ryan Garcia announced Sunday he postponed his exhibition fight against Japanese kickboxer Rukiya Anpo after suffering a wrist injury during training.
The bout was slated to take place Dec. 30 in Tokyo. It will be rescheduled for a to-be-determined date in early 2025.
Garcia was examined by Dr. Steven Shin in Los Angeles, who recommended the postponement due to Garcia's "aggravated bilateral wrist pain," according to ESPN's Mike Coppinger.
Garcia accepted the invitation to face Anpo in a 153-pound, eight-round exhibition bout last month. He's currently serving a one-year ban after testing positive for the banned substance ostarine prior to his April 20 fight against Devin Haney but is eligible to face Anpo because exhibition fights are excluded from suspensions.
However, the 26-year-old and his promoters appeared to be involved in a recent dispute relating to the bout. Last month, Golden Boy Promotions insisted they had not given Garcia-Anpo the green light.
"Golden Boy Promotions has exclusive rights to Ryan Garcia's fights. The organizers of this event (Garcia vs. Anpo) have acknowledged as such and have agreed in writing that our sign-off is needed for this event to occur," Oscar De La Hoya's promotion company wrote Nov. 26. "As no such sign-off has been given, as of today there is no event with Ryan Garcia."
Garcia appeared to react to Golden Boy's statement that same night by posting a shrug emoji. He hasn't addressed the issue on X since then.
The former WBC interim lightweight champion was hoping to use Anpo as a stepping stone toward fighting Jake Paul.
Garcia's collected a 24-1 record over 26 professional fights. His win over Haney in April was overturned to a no-contest following his positive drug test.
Anpo's lone foray into boxing was a three-round exhibition draw against Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao in July.