Ryan Garcia posted a warning to MMA fighters following former two-division heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua’s second-round knockout of former UFC champ Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Garcia said on X, ” “Stop coming to boxing; it will only get worse. It’s more even if we just go to your sport! OVER! ONE PUNCH.”
Unfortunately, the MMA fighters will likely ignore Ryan’s warning and continue to join boxing for crossover events, especially with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh paying millions for these types of fights.
It kind of mocks boxing, as it sets up situations where fans are being asked to pay to watch a fight that won’t give them their money’s worth unless they enjoy paying $40 to watch a boxer destroy an MMA guy in two rounds. That’s not even sporting.
Thankfully, in the NFL and NBA, you don’t see athletes from other sports, like golf or tennis, being thrown into a league game and fans being asked to pay to watch. Those sports are well-managed to prevent this kind of abomination from occurring.
Until the promoters that are putting on these circus acts stop acts, the boxing fans will be stuck with them.
“Sending healing prayers to FRANCIS! Your bravery and guts should be commendable,” Ryan added.
Sadly, Ngannou said he won’t end his boxing career with this loss, which indicates that he’s likely hoping to get other massive paydays. His purse for the Tyson Fury fight was $10 million, and he made an estimated $20 million for last Friday’s clash against Joshua.
It’s unclear whether the Saudis will be interested in continuing to give Ngannou huge paydays. His record of 0-2 shows that he’s incapable of contending with top-level fighters.
The Saudis can set Ngannou up with regular contenders, like Deontay Wilder, Joseph Parker, or Jared Anderson, but will the fans want to pay to watch those types of fights, given Francis’ lack of success? How do you sell that to the public and keep a straight face?