Less than two weeks after his fight with Javier Fortuna was made official, Ryan Garcia has pulled out of the bout. Garcia announced that he was withdrawing from the planned July 9 bout to manage his "health and well-being."
"I know this news may be disappointing to some of my fans but I am announcing today that I am withdrawing from my July 9th fight," Garcia wrote on Instagram. "At this time it is important to manage my health and wellbeing. I have decided to take some time off to focus on becoming a stronger version of myself. I hope to be back soon and am looking forward to stepping back into the ring when I am my healthiest self."
Garcia is one fight removed from winning the WBC interim lightweight championship after picking himself up from an early knockdown to finish Luke Campbell with a body shot in January. The victory made Garcia the mandatory challenger for WBC champion Devin Haney. That led to some confusion, however, as Fortuna had already locked up a spot as the WBC mandatory challenger.
The WBC set up the fight between Campbell and Fortuna with the winner emerging as the lone mandatory for Haney. Fortuna had previously been set to clash with Campbell for the full championship after the WBC had moved Haney to "champion-in-recess" status. Haney was later reinstated to full champion status -- which he'd gained when Vasiliy Lomachenko was promoted from champion to "franchise champion."
With Garcia out of the fight with Fortuna, it remains to be seen how the WBC handles the convoluted championship picture. Fortuna has been waiting for his shot at the title, but Haney is tied up with a May 29 fight with Jorge Linares.
Whether Fortuna gets the winner or Garcia slots back into the picture once he has finished whatever attending to his health he needs will be decided down the will be a story to follow in the coming months.
