Ryan Garcia has set his sights on Errol Spence Jr., declaring that a bout with the former welterweight world champion is imminent. Garcia, coming off an impressive performance against junior welterweight titleholder Devin Haney, where he knocked Haney down three times, has nonetheless faced significant controversy. Despite his victory, Garcia's win has been overshadowed by his failure to make weight, coming in three pounds over the limit, and testing positive for ostarine in two separate drug tests leading up to the fight.
Despite the looming threat of a suspension and the cloud of the failed tests, Garcia remains undeterred and has publicly challenged several fighters, including Sebastian Fundora and Gervonta Davis, the latter being a rematch of Garcia's only professional loss. His latest callout was directed at Spence, who has been inactive since his defeat by Terence Crawford last July for the undisputed world championship. Taking to Instagram, Garcia was forthright in his challenge:
“Errol Spence Jr., this time I ain’t trolling, I’m dead ass, the fight is happening. I’m dead serious. He stole money from my coach. He’s just a piece of s#it. Crawford didn’t do enough; I’m ending this man. I’m putting him to bed, I’m putting him to sleep.”
Amidst this brewing rivalry, Spence is embroiled in a legal tussle with his former coach, Derrick James, who currently coaches Garcia. The dispute centers around James' claim that he is owed no less than $5 million for a verbally agreed 10 percent of Spence's guaranteed purse from several pay-per-view bouts. Spence disputes this claim and has countered with a lawsuit seeking $250,000 or less, plus attorney fees, from James.
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