How were you able to keep it so separate, right? Where only in the sport you're willing to engage in those types of ways?

Well, I think that it was more so pointing to my childhood.

You know, I was a very sensitive kid.

Kind of more... just more conscious than a lot of the kids.

They wanted to be, you know, troublemakers and they wanted to get after me because of either the way I looked or because I fought.

And it was something I was very unfamiliar with.

I was boxing since I was seven.

a good fight,

But how were you able to keep it so separate, right? Where only in the sport you're willing to engage in those types of ways.

Well, I think that, um, it was more so pointing to my, um, my childhood, you know.

I'm, I was very sensitive kid.

Um, kind of more, uh, just more conscious than a lot of the kids.

They wanted to be, you know, troublemakers, and they wanted to get after me because of either the way I looked or because I fought, and it was something I was very unfamiliar with.

I was, um, boxing since I was seven, so all I knew was, uh, controlled chaos, and this was, um, this was a free-for-all.

So it took time for me to realize that, um, that, you know, the right move is to be the best at your sport.

Mm-hmm

Mm-hmm.

That's the difference, you know? I...

But for me, I've always had that heart where when I watch an Oscar De La Hoya fight, when I als- watched the Floyd Mayweather fight, when I watched a Manny Pacquiao fight, you got a certain level of intensity and excitement.

I wanted to bring that to boxing.

I remembered that.

I remember those feelings.

I remember everybody gathering up intense, like ooh, this is about to...

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

That's the difference, you know? I, but for me, I've always had that heart where when I watch an Oscar De La Hoya fight, when I als- watched a Floyd Mayweather fight, when I watched a Manny Pacquiao fight, you got a certain level of intensity and excitement.

I wanted to bring that to boxing.

I remember th- I remember those feelings.

I remember everybody gathering up intense, like ooh, this is about to...

I wanted to bring that back to boxing.

Warning: The following song has been rated dangerously catchy and may not be suitable for grownups.

[upbeat music] A, B, C, D.

What are you looking to prove in the ring on Saturday?

That I just played the game way better than him.

He's not even close.

Um, you know, at the end of the day, you know, when somebody has played the game way longer and way better for a long period of time, it doesn't matter how confident he is, it doesn't matter if he blows up to 170, he's just not that good of a fighter to beat me.

Nothing he can do can, can beat me.

His, he...

I already know his, his idea of trying to beat me is gonna be trying to bully me, throw me on the floor, do some stupid stuff.

it is

So if someone were to come to you and says, "Ryan, you know, I'm dealing with some of the things that I think you probably dealt with in the past," what's some of the, uh, advice, some of s- something that you could... tidbit that you'd give him to help him?

I would say, um, every thought and every, every anxiety that you feel, gi- give it a beat.

You know, really assess yourself and assess your body first.

I like to assess, what is going on within my body? Why am I feeling this? Ooh, did I hydrate correctly today? Did I get this? Did I get that? Then once I move on to that, what is this thought really...

What am I really worried about within this thought? I kinda separate myself from myself, and just look at it objectively from the thought itself, you know? Oh, I'm worried because this and that.

Ah, okay, what can I do to do something about it? And if there's nothing I can do about it, let it go, you know?

So what, what should he do if he, if he got serious, if he really, really wanted to return to the ring?

Well, one, he needs to forget about boxing.

Right.

Um, so there was a lot of little fishy things, you know? The, the New York State, uh, Athletic Commission, the president stepped down before the, the decision.

There was just a lot of things that kinda rubbed me the wrong way.

You know, Victor Conte, rest in peace, was involved with SNAC.

SNAC obviously was involved with, um, with Devin Haney, and then Victor Conte was very involved with VADA.

It was just, like, a lot of weird things that I just didn't really, couldn't really, you know, settle on.

And then his little brother says I'm gonna test positive before everybody else knows.

To, to that you say?

like how much of it is contrived and how much of it is actually legit? Like, do you have any ill will towards this guy? Or is this just the next guy standing in front of you and trying to take what you already have?

I would say it's a bit of both.

Tempers can flare up pretty quick, especially in such an intense situation.

Emotions can rile up, but I also know the element that this is the showbiz.

You've got to make people interested, but it doesn't take a lot for me to get going.

Where I grew up, everybody shot jokes at each other 24-7, and Whatever he dishes out, I'll be able to come right back word wise.

And it's fun.

But if you're in a family business and things don't go well, then how do you deal with it?

Like how much of it is contrived and how much of it is actually legit? Like, do you have any ill will towards this guy? Or is this just the next guy standing in front of you and trying to take what you already have?

I would say it's a bit of both.

Tempers can flare up pretty quick, especially in such an intense situation.

Emotions can rile up, but I also know the element that this is the showbiz.

You've got to make people interested, but it doesn't take a lot for me to get going.

Where I grew up, everybody shot jokes at each other 24-7.

Whatever he dishes out, I'll be able to come right back word wise.

But if you're in a family business and things don't go well, then how do you deal with it?

What was going on with you in that period?

Well, I think back then, it may have looked like everything was good and dandy, but in reality, a lot of people had never given me credit for what I've done in the sport.

So I don't really think that's the right perspective at the time of how people viewed me.

But I would say the amount of pressure and everything that I've had to deal with since I've started boxing, I think came to a bullying point.

And I was pretty frustrated and I had a lot of anger that was built up.

And I think that, you know, it came with a lot of struggles, drinking and a lot of mental health issues.

But that's just the story of 2024.

Could you see yourself transferring to Zufa Boxing with Dana?

I love the kid.

Yeah, I mean, he's just way more physical than Volpe and Cabello.

Like, that's the first thing you see, where again, he can...

It's not that Volpe can't attempt to play in the hole.

It's not that Cabello can't, you know, occasionally get around on the slider.

It's just that it's easier for Lombard.

It's easier when you're 6'2", 190 pounds with some of the bat speed and arm strength we've seen so far.

Yep.

since then?

Uh, it's evolved a lot, and I think with running as a whole, no matter how many races you race, you're always gonna learn and take away something from it.So obviously from my first one, which was a 5:40, to running my second one, which was a 4:36, you learn, okay, can't get overconfident.

You can't get too cocky, especially at 42 kilometers, and you have to be patient with it.

So after that one, I knew, okay, we've kinda figured it out.

And one of my running friends was like, "Hey, put your name into Chicago.

If you get in, you get in.

If you don't, you run another local one." Get into Chicago, uh, for 2024.

Like I, I, I don't know if I would've had the resilience that you had in your shoes to say, "I didn't hit my goal, but I'm going to learn from this and keep going." Was that self-talk? Was that something that you've developed through your personal experience? It's like how, how were you that resilient to be able to say, "I didn't get it, but I can keep going"?

Uh, talk to me about that moment.

Well, my dad, um, he's been with me since I was seven years old, and, uh, I just felt like it meant more to him than me, and I wanted to give my first championship to my dad, so I dedicated it to my dad, uh, even before the fight, yeah.

He's talking a lot.

He's talking a lot.

He's been...

He, he actually confronted me, um, at an awards show two years ago, and, uh, my wife was there, and he just pressed up on me, grabbed me.

Do you still think about that right now, or is it just one of those situations where having only three fights in the last three years, you're just simply taking one fight at a time?

Well, you know, a- as I'm a world champion now, and now that I feel like I have the belt, and, you know, I've always had the following and I've always had, you know, all the opportunities you can have as a superstar, you know, now that I have this, this piece that I kinda was missing, of course, I would love to keep fighting and kind of carry boxing.

I actually lead this generation of young fighters, of popularity, and now of being a world champion, so I have all the opportunities to become the face of boxing.

But now I just have to prove it with my dedication and, uh, all my, all my fights that are gonna be lined up.

I, I have to do it now.

Mm-hmm.

But if you really want boxing to propel, you can't be worried about that.

All you can do is dust yourself off, get back, and prove yourself, uh, again.

Can you remember a position is the one that comes to mind that you spent a long time thinking about that then ended up being an unlock? Is there a particular sequence that you th- that you spent a good bit of time on?

Yeah, I re- I, even when I was, like, young, I remember this, I was sparring this kid, and he kept catching me, kept catching me.

And I was like, I remember going back home and just thinking about it for, like, two hours, three hours.

Like, "Why is he catching me with that?" And then I, I, I, I had remembered, I overthought about it so much that I was like, "All right, Dad." Like, I called my dad to the room.

I said, "Call him back." Like, "I have something for him." Like, "Let's go." And he goes, "Are you sure?" Like, "He was pretty much whooping your ass." [chuckles] Like, uh, "Let's just wait a little bit." I was like, "No, call him the next day.

I figured something out." And it was a, when he would step forward, he would show his jab.

So, like, uh, he would step and then show the jab.

... "Why is that thing happening?" Is there, have you ever had that happen as a pro?

Mm-hmm

...

I just know nobody could, like, really mess with me when I'm at my top, my top of my top game because I'm fast, my, I'm twitchy and I, I just-I'm on everything.

So, you know, I fell in love with that.

I'm like, "Damn, what am I doing? Like, I really got it like that.

I, I cannot giving it up for whatever reasons", you know? It's all about sacrifices in life.

The greatest things in life has came through sacrifice, and, uh, I needed a reality check and, uh, I definitely got it.

What have you done? Um, there have been some negative comments to your reputation, maybe some of the things you've said, some of the things that you've done, but what are some of the concrete changes that you've made in your life to make sure the things that, that have transpired that kinda, kinda held you back, kept you from being the best person that you can be? What are some of the changes that you've made, be it personnel in your life, maybe the steps that you've taken that make sure that we don't get the a year half ago, two years ago Ryan Garcia?

Are you where you wanna be? Have you had a great camp? No injuries, no setbacks, just full steam ahead?

Mm-hmm.

No, this camp has been, uh, amazing.

Everything's dialed in, from the diet to the training to the sparring.

Everything's been on point.

Uh, no problems making weight at all.

You know, they just had the seven-day check-in weight, the WBC, uh, and I was 149, so I'm right there.

What have you done? Um, there have been some negative comments to your reputation, maybe some of the things you've said, some of the things that you've done, but what are some of the concrete changes that you've made in your life to make sure the things that, that have transpired that kinda, kinda held you back, kept you from being the best person that you can be? What are some of the changes that you've made, be it personnel in your life, maybe the steps that you've taken that make sure that we don't get the a year a half ago, two years ago Ryan Garcia?

Mm-hmm

...

I just know nobody could, like, really mess with me when I'm at my top, my top of my top game, because I'm fast, my ...

I'm twitchy, and I, I just- I'm on everything.

So, you know, I fell in love with that.

I'm like, "Damn, what am I doing? Like, I really got it like that." I, I cannot giving it up for whatever reasons, you know? It's all about sacrifices in life.

The greatest things in life has came through sacrifice, and, uh, I needed a reality check and, uh, I definitely got it.

What are some of the changes that you've made, be it personnel in your life, maybe the steps that you've taken that make sure that we don't get the a year half ago, two years ago Ryan Garcia?

... explanation?

I mean, we've been out of the ring for over a year.

I think, uh, both of us kinda wanted to get a touch-up before we, we get in there with each other.

I don't mind it.

I mean, last time I, I thought that way, um, it kinda backfired on me with, with Tank Davis.

I, I let like a year go by before I fought again, and I didn't feel as sharp.

So this time I kinda had that mindset where I've been off a year.

How come you went back to him?