Ryan Garcia has gone from baby-faced assassin to a full-blown lightweight – and is still only 23.
Ryan Garcia has gone from baby-faced assassin to a full-blown lightweight – and is still only 23.
In some ways it’s easy to forget Garcia is still only in his early twenties as it feels like he has been around forever.
Originally from Victorville, California, Garcia started boxing at the age of seven.
After a successful amateur career including multiple youth titles at national level, he turned professional six years ago, and it’s crazy seeing how much his body has changed over the years.
Garcia, 23, originally started out as a super-featherweight in 2016 and steadily progressed through the ranks before making his lightweight debut against Carlos Morales in September 2018.
He ultimately won via a majority decision and later that same year knocked out Braulio Rodriguez.
His impressive winning streak continued as he went on to face Jose Lopez before knocking him out too.
But as well as his change in weight class, Garcia has also undergone an incredible body transformation to adapt to his new surroundings with plenty of work in the weights room.
Ryan Garcia stares down Braulio Rodriguez
Photos from Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez’s victory over Rocky Fielding in December 2018 show the then-20-year-old’s slender frame during the ceremonial weigh-ins in New York.
And even after that, ‘The Flash’ didn’t really fill out all that much.
But over the last year or so, he has spent time putting the work, filling out his 5ft 10in frame.
Garcia and his team, headed up by his personal chef Manny Duran, recognised where he needed to make a few changes and worked hard to improve his strength and conditioning.
He told Mens Health: “Adjust to your surroundings, because the world don’t wait for you.
Ryan Garcia has loads of tattoos all over his body
“Just like Bruce Lee said: You need to be like water. Water goes into a cup, it turns into the cup.
“Water goes into anything, it becomes that. That’s what you need to do when you’re working out, and for anything in life. Just keep adjusting.”
But it’s not just his physical size which has changed – Garcia has also got a few new tattoos inked on his skin as well.
He got his first tattoo in early 2021 and now has over ten in total across his shoulders and chest alone.
Garcia has two lions on both of his pecs, which are a nod to his ‘KingRy’ nickname.
There are also the words ‘Shock The World’ inked on the back of his shoulder, while he also has a cross on his right arm.
Born to a devout Christian family, Garcia was baptized in January 2021, and it’s clear he takes his faith very seriously.
He explained: “The cross [signifies] the strength, the power in my right hand.
“Don’t underestimate the left one either, as it too has got that power.”
The dove on his right shoulder is meant to represent ‘the holy spirit that guides me’, while he also has a laurel wreath tattooed around his neck.