Ryan Garcia Slams Eddie Hearn for ‘Shocked’ Take on Zayas Fight

Ryan Garcia is once again taking aim at the way promoters talk about the sport. After Eddie Hearn expressed genuine surprise that Xander Zayas agreed to a June 27 unification bout against Jaron Ennis, Garcia didn’t hold back on social media.

“Eddie Hearn is the silliest promoter, I’m shocked he’s willing to fight, WE ARE FIGHTERS wdym your shocked 😂😂😂,” Garcia said. He also took aim at Hearn’s past praise of Devin Haney, bringing up earlier claims that Haney was “unbeatable.”

Ryan has a point that hits on the fundamental disconnect between the “promoter’s logic” and the “fighter’s logic.”

From Eddie Hearn’s perspective, the “shock” is about the business risk. Xander Zayas is only 23, a unified champion, and the golden boy for Top Rank and Puerto Rico. In the corporate boxing world, you usually protect an asset like that for years before throwing them in with a boogeyman like Jaron “Boots” Ennis.

By acting surprised, Hearn is effectively trying to make Ennis look so terrifying that Zayas’s team is “crazy” for taking the fight.

Why Ryan is Barking: Ryan sees that kind of talk as a direct shot at a fighter’s pride. To him, fighters don’t fear risks: That is the literal job description. He views Hearn’s “shock” as a manufactured way to build Ennis up at the expense of Zayas’s agency.

Ryan isn’t going to let Hearn forget the Devin Haney hype. Hearn spent months calling Haney “unbeatable,” and Ryan loves to remind the world that he shattered that narrative.

At Wednesday’s kickoff at Barclays Center, Hearn was doing what he does best: selling the “danger” of the event. But for someone like Ryan, who has dealt with the “underdog” label and the “you’re taking this fight too soon” talk, it feels like a slight against the courage it takes to step in the ring.

Hearn is selling a “high-risk blockbuster,” while Garcia is arguing that calling it “shocking” actually insults the heart of the sport. Ryan is basically saying, “Stop acting like a fighter being brave is a miracle, it’s what we do.”