Former interim WBC lightweight champion Ryan Garcia was planning to end his rocky 2024 with an exhibition fight against Japanese kickboxer Rukiya Anpo on December 30th in Tokyo, Japan. However, after a sudden twist of fate, a recent announcement has revealed that the fight is off and has now been postponed to the next year.

According to a news release by the boxer’s publicist on Sunday, the Victorville native has suffered a wrist injury during his training camp for the exhibition bout, effectively ending his chances of fighting later this month. Per reports, Garcia was evaluated by Dr. Steven Shin of Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics in Los Angeles on Thursday for an aggravated bilateral wrist injury.

“I recommend that he hold off on sparring and boxing matches for several weeks,’’ Shin’s statement read per the news release. “Treatment options will be discussed with Mr. Garcia after further evaluation.” The news release also revealed that his exhibition bout in Tokyo will be rescheduled for a date in early 2025.

The exhibition bout was already shrouded in controversy, with Garcia’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, previously asserting that neither he nor his promotion had approved the fight. As a result, the bout was initially believed to be off. However, as of this writing, Oscar has yet to provide any further updates on the situation.

On top of it, Anpo failed to show up for their press conference in Tokyo, where the bout was being promoted earlier this month. He claimed that he chose to sleep in while asserting he did not respect the Victorville native. Meanwhile, the news release also included an official statement from Ryan Garcia about the latest development. 

Ryan Garcia and Rukiya Anpo on fight postponement

“I’ve been eagerly preparing for my upcoming exhibition fight in Japan, training hard in Dallas over the past several weeks,” Garcia’s statement, part of the news release, said. “Unfortunately, I sustained a hand injury during training and returned to Los Angeles to be seen by the doctor, who has advised me to postpone my December 30 exhibition.”

He further added that the postponement is a “temporary setback” in his overall plan to fight Anpo. Garcia also issued an apology to FANMIO, RIZIN, and Anpo, noting, “No one is more disappointed than I am. Thank you for being so supportive.” The news release also included a statement from Anpo, where he claimed beating up an injured opponent won’t mean anything. 

“I am disappointed, to say the least, but knocking out an injured opponent won’t mean anything, so I wish him a speedy recovery and hope I can face the 100 percent version of Ryan Garcia,” Anpo said, per the news release. 

That said, it appears Ryan Garcia will have to wait longer to enter the ring since his year-long suspension in April earlier this year because of testing positive for Ostarine during the Devin Haney fight, which has since been turned into a no contest. When do you think Garcia will fight Anpo after the postponement?