FILE PHOTO: Boxing - Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk - Weigh-in - BLVD City - Music World, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - May 17, 2024 Ryan Garcia is pictured during the weigh-in Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge/File Photo
The entertainment platform Fanmio has sued boxer Ryan Garcia and his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, for "feigning injury" and pulling out of a fight in Japan last December.
In a lawsuit filed last week in a federal district court in California, Fanmio alleges that the defendants fabricated the fighter's injury to escape their obligations. Garcia's camp said he injured his wrist training for the event.
Fanmio said it spent more than $1 million promoting the planned Dec. 31, 2024 exhibition between Garcia, 26, and Japanese kickboxer Rukiya Anpo. Fanmio said it could have earned $10 million in profits if the fight had happened.
"Despite receiving payment and the promotion being well underway, Fanmio was deceived into organizing an event in which Ryan never intended to participate," the company said in a statement. "In addition, Golden Boy Promotions actively worked to sabotage the event."
Garcia's attorneys told ESPN that the lawsuit "has no merit whatsoever." A spokesperson for Golden Boy Promotions declined to comment.
Garcia, who is 24-1 with 20 knockouts, is nearing the end of a one-year suspension from the New York State Athletic Commission after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug on April 20, 2024.
He is scheduled to return to the ring on May 2 against former welterweight champion Rolando Romero in New York City's Times Square.
--Field Level Media
