Ryan Garcia’s 2024 was a mess. The boxing star sat down with All the Smoke Fight for an interview that dropped on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, and spilled everything. From gambling and drinking to a steroid scandal he swears was rigged, Garcia’s year was a rollercoaster that almost cost him his family and career.
Living Wild and Losing Control
Garcia didn’t hold back about how he spiraled.
“I was doing everything gambling drinking women whatever I wanted to do,” he said. “I was just destroying my soul just destroying my spirit. Everything took a toll on me.” He admitted he’s got an addictive streak, and once he started, he couldn’t stop. “I have an addictive personality so when I got going I got going and just took it to a whole other place,” he added.
It wasn’t just fun. It was wrecking him inside.
His family saw it too.
“My family wanted me to get help and they tried as best as they can but when you are in that state you aren’t listening,” Garcia explained. “When you have everything you want at your disposal it’s not for everybody.”
Money and fame made it worse. He was drowning, and no one could pull him out.
Drinking Through the Haney Fight
The chaos hit hard around his April 20, 2024, fight with Devin Haney. Garcia won by majority decision, knocking Haney down three times. But he wasn’t sober.
“I’m surprised I am here right now,” he said. “I was drinking every day every single day even the day of the Haney fight. The day of the fight I just got so involved with trying to cope with whatever was inside. I was struggling mentally for years and it just wouldn’t stop for me. That’s how I coped with it.”
Booze was his crutch, even stepping into the ring.
That win should’ve been huge. Instead, it turned sour fast. A positive steroid test flipped it to a no-contest, and Garcia got a one-year ban from the New York State Athletic Commission. He insists he’s clean, but the damage was done.
Hitting Rock Bottom
Things crashed hard after that.
“The turning point was to realize ‘Damn bro I’m f—ing my life up.’ Getting arrested was a big part of it almost losing my kids was a huge part of it,” Garcia said.
In June 2024, he got nabbed for felony vandalism at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills, trashing a hotel room. That wake-up call came with another scare. Losing custody of his kids loomed large, and it shook him.
One night stood out.
“I decided to take a bunch of shrooms something I was doing already but this time I took too many,” he said. “I kind of just lost it bro. I can’t even say anything else. I ended up breaking everything in the room. I really don’t remember. I was drunk and f—ing everything up. I feel I just didn’t have those type of people around me who cared.”
Mixing mushrooms and alcohol sent him over the edge. He owns it, though.
“I personally don’t like to blame nobody that’s just me. I take responsibility. The blame is on me. I wasn’t around the right people. But at that time nothing was going to get to me. I was in a whole different universe to be honest,” he added.
Feeling Set Up by the Steroid Bust
The Haney fight fallout still stings.
“After what happened last year it kind of just kills that joy of the shit for me because they took the victory I felt I always wanted against an elite fighter that would give me my respect in boxing,” Garcia said.
He’s sure he was framed.
“I was drinking and doing all that but one thing I don’t do is take steroids. I know in my heart they set me up in that way. Regardless of what their claims are they are never going to admit that but it was just so convenient,” he explained.
He’s got questions.
“I tested clean all the way through and then after the fight everything was good. Haney’s little brother posted on social media that I was going to test positive for steroids. How the f— would he know that I was going to test positive before any of that news came out? It gets announced and then the next day Devin Haney is on SportsCenter talking about it. It feels like I was set up and it did a number on me. I became very angry and I guess in a sense I’m still angry in a way,” Garcia said.
That anger’s fueling him now.
Channeling It Into the Romero Fight
Garcia’s back in the gym, eyeing his return against Rolly Romero on May 2, 2025, in Times Square, New York.
“I think this kindness is just a passive aggressive thing like I’m just waiting for something to pop off and I’m channeling it in terms of training for Rolly,” he said.
He’s 24-1 with 20 knockouts, and Romero’s 16-2 with 13 knockouts. After a year banned, Garcia’s eligible again in April 2025. This fight’s his chance to prove he’s still got it.
Looking back, Garcia’s stunned he made it through 2024. The drinking, the drugs, the arrest, the ban, it all piled up. But he’s here, rebuilding. His family’s still with him, and he’s got a shot to reclaim his name in the ring. That Haney win turned into a no-contest haunts him, but he’s not done fighting, in or out of boxing. Romero’s next, and Garcia’s ready to let that anger loose.
