28 May 2024 , 11:21
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Ryan Garcia has offered himself as a replacement opponent for Mike Tyson should the boxing legend be forced to pull out of his fight with Jake Paul.
Tyson suffered a health scare over the weekend and needed medical attention on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles on Sunday. It was later revealed that he felt dizzy and nauseous after an ulcer flared up half an hour before the plane was due to land. Tyson was treated and is now "doing great" and has no intention of pulling out of his fight with Paul in Texas on July 20.
But after the news, Garcia, who is currently battling to prove his innocence after failing a drugs test following his win over Devin Haney last month, offered to step in. "If you down to fight. If Mike can't do it. Let me know I will fill in," he said to Paul on social media. But the social media star responded, saying: "Everyone is trying to do everything they can to hurt this fight and attack me. You should know about that."
Garcia fights at super-lightweight and weighs almost 100lb less than Paul who claims to have bulked up to 230lb ahead of his heavyweight debut. Paul and Garcia have had a back-and-forth friendship with the latter claiming he regretted introducing Paul to boxing in the first place.
"I can’t do this s***. I feel so f***ing bad for introducing Jake Paul to boxing. I f***ed up. I can’t allow this to happen. He’s disrespecting my sport, he’s disrespecting everything," he said. "Call my team, Jake. F*** you. I’m going to end this Jake Paul boxing thing. Bring it on Jake, I'm dead f***ing serious f*** you, hit my team up."
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Paul welcomed the challenge when he questioned about Garcia's comments. "Ryan, I love you and you know that but you’ve got to chill out bro. There’s a line but you just seem like you’re losing your mind and acting thirsty and desperate," he said in response.
Paul has dismissed fears over Tyson's health despite the fact the former undisputed heavyweight world champion will be 58 when he steps through the ropes. Tyson's last professional bout was in 2005 when he retired on his stool after five rounds of his fight with Kevin McBride.