Ryan Garcia Weight Gain: Impact on Anpo Exposure and Future Fights

Ryan Garcia looks plump for his December 30 exhibition match against Rukiya Anpo in Japan. Garcia will fight Anpo in 19 days in Tokyo in a match that will be shown on Fanmio PPV for $49.99.

In a video clip, Ryan has his trousers pulled up to hide his Fury-style spare tire which wasn’t there until seven months earlier. He has evidently been binging since April 20th and we are seeing visible results.

The Anpo advantage

Garcia has put on pounds for this fight, which could slow him down because he doesn’t look as fast as when he was lighter. These two-minute rounds will be fast-paced and could work in Anpo’s favor. Looks in great shape. Anpo has the perfect target for his punches. Aim for Ryan’s midsection.

In a training clip this week, Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) has his pants pulled up in what appears to be a move to hide his flabby stomach. It’s a move you often see with middle-aged men like Tyson Fury when they pull up their trunks to hide their belly. Seeing Ryan resort to this move is disconcerting.

He appears to weigh around 160 pounds, but carries 20 pounds more fat than the slight fighter who beat Oscar Duarte a year ago on Dec. 2, 2023.

Garcia has been putting on weight since before his last fight against Devin Haney on April 20. He arrived 3.2 pounds overweight at 143.2 pounds and had to pay $600,000.

The extra weight seemed to prevent Garcia from fighting hard in every round, and he took many breaks to recharge his batteries. He could get away with it against Haney because he’s not a puncher or pressure fighter. But if Ryan behaves like this against one of the engaged fighters, he will be eliminated.

The extra weight Ryan, 26, has put on doesn’t appear to be due to muscle, and that could be bad for him. Anpo, 6’0″, appears to be taking this eight-round exhibition bout seriously, and that could be a problem for an out-of-shape Garcia.

We saw how Anpo beat up 45-year-old Manny Pacquiao during his three-round performance on July 28 in Saitama, Japan. Pacquiao earned every penny he earned in that match because he took a lot of heavy shots from the muscular 29-year-old Anpo.

Garcia’s future

Ryan will have to lose weight when his suspension ends in April 2025 because he won’t be able to look the way he does now. He doesn’t have the frame to fight at 154 and may not even be beefy enough to campaign at 147. He can potentially do well at 147 against lesser fighters like Mario Barrios and Conor Benn, but will fall apart against Jaron Ennis and Eimantas Stanionis.