Ryan Garcia believes he will end his early boxing career. He plans to retire at 26 years old. But the hot prospect isn’t saying he’ll give up all combat sports right now.
The popular Garcia told The Rich Eisen Show on Thursday that he will consider moving to MMA after his boxing career. The 22-year-old said he wants to prove he is the best fighter in the world, and not just in the ring.
“If they say‘ okay, you’ve beaten everyone in the ring ’(and) someone says‘ this isn’t a real fight, the real fight is kicks, suffocation, submissions, all of that, ’” Garcia said. “Will I? I’m going to prove to them that I’m the best fighter in the world. I’m talking about hands, I’m talking about wrestling. I’m going to MMA to prove that God is the greatest. And I’m going to beat whoever is in MMA, they say that I won’t win. If it has to be Conor McGregor, I will. And I don’t say that to get money, I don’t care about money. I say that just because that’s how I feel. “
Garcia said his plan is to quit boxing when he is 26 years old. But I wouldn’t rule out a return either.
“I still plan to retire at 26,” he said. “However, if I’m going to get back in the ring, I’ll only fight what people say at the time … that Ryan can’t beat.”
Garcia (21-0) is ESPN’s No. 4 lightweight. The California native comes from a technical knockout in the seventh round over Luke Campbell to win the CMB lightweight interim title on January 2nd.