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Ryan Garcia and Japanese kickboxing sensation Rukiya Anpo went face-to-face at a press conference in Beverly Hills on Tuesday ahead of their exhibition showdown presented by RIZIN and FANMIO taking place Monday, December 30 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT (U.S. date and time) live from Tokyo, Japan.
This fight will be contested at 153 pounds, with full boxing rules implemented across eight two-minute rounds.
Tuesday’s press conference saw the two combatants verbally spar throughout the proceedings
Here is what Garcia and Anpo had to say:
RYAN GARCIA
“He tried to knock out Manny Pacquiao and it pissed me off, so now I have to teach him a lesson and teach him how to box. He’s got some size and he’s real excited right now, but I’m gonna have to settle him down and knock him out. We’re gonna put a whupping on this boy.
“His energy is definitely waking me up. I was ready to enjoy the festivities but now he’s waking the dragon up. I’m definitely looking to knock him out now.
“He’s a young fighter who was trying to make a statement against a legend in Manny Pacquiao. That rubbed me the wrong way and now I’m here to show him someone in his prime with speed and power.
“I beat up a pound-for-pound champion, and you are not at that level. You’re gonna get a whupping. You’re not good, you’re just big. I’m gonna knock you out in front of the world. You may think this is Hollywood, but this is for real. You’re gonna see who the ‘King’ is.
“He’s gonna be the bigger man in that ring. We had to give him something to give him hope. We’re going to adjust and ultimately my skills are going to put me over the top. He’s training like this is a world title fight, so we can’t take this lightly.
“I went to Japan this summer to watch Manny Pacquiao and I’m excited to be going back there for this amazing event. Japan is one of the sports capitals of the world and I can’t wait to be there and meet the fans.”
RUKIYA ANPO
“Hello America! Today I have something I’d like to say directly to Ryan. We know that Ryan likes to make excuses, miss weight and lacks professionalism. He’s got no sportsmanship and no respect. Yet he dares to call himself ‘King’. On fight day I will show him that we fight for honor and legacy. I bring the real Samurai spirit and will show him exactly where he belongs.
“As a professional, you have to put on a fun and entertaining fight for the fans. I regret that I couldn’t finish Manny Pacquiao. That’s what we train to do in every fight. I have even more motivation this time and I will knock him out and finish Ryan Garcia as a professional.
“He says he doesn’t know who I am, but he will find out on fight day. I will put everything into this fight because I believe in myself and know I will win. I will announce Rukiya Anpo to the global audience.
“He’s got a world-class left hook, I’ll give him that. I’ll be aware of it and I’ll be ready for it. He’s unpolished and gets sloppy and over the course of the fight I’ll take advantage of that.
“I know how big of an opportunity this is and I know what’s at stake. But I’m not satisfied just being here. I want to show everything I can do in this fight and I won’t be satisfied until I knock him out. I want to take my name to the next level because of what I do in the ring.
“He better be grateful to me, I gave him this opportunity. I’ve fought in front of 50,000 people, he doesn’t know what he’s in for.
“I feel he’s been very disrespectful to the sport. He’s a fake ‘King’.”
After the press conference, Golden Boy Promotions, Garcia’s promoter, released a statement claiming they had not granted Garcia permission to take this exhibition fight.
“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. As no such sign-off has been given, as of today there is no event with Ryan Garcia. ” – Golden Boy
It should be interesting to see how this situation gets resolved.
Garcia was last in the ring on April 20 when he defeated Devin Haney by unanimous decision. However, Garcia tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine, and the fight was turned into a no-contest; he was fined and suspended for a year.
Photo: Esther Lin/Fanmio