Midnight Mania: Who Wins ‘Coked Out’ Garcia Vs. Jones?

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Ryan Garcia is fighting WBC Super Lightweight Champion Devin Haney in a 12-round title bout this Sat. night (April 20, 2024) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Someone should probably inform “King Ryan” of his upcoming scrap, however, because he’s acting rather unhinged.

Garcia just doesn’t have the air of a professional boxer ready to compete against the best in the world. For weeks now, he’s been saying and doing odd and concerning things. Randomly confessing to occasionally smoking marijuana is a relative non-issue, but those close to him have expressed serious concern for his mental health. People thought Garcia was dead, and the Nevada State Athletic Commission requested a mental health examination.

It’s not the first time Garcia has dealt with such issues and accusations.

Already this week, Garcia was removed from a New York Mets baseball game, where he was supposed to throw the ceremonial first pitch. If that weren’t weird enough for fight week antics, Garcia’s unusual behavior has continued online. In a tweet that I’m amazed has been deleted yet, Garcia speculated about hypothetically fighting Jon Jones while both are high on cocaine.

“Ok hypothetically, hear me out,” Garcia wrote. “Jon Jones vs Ryan Garcia. We are both coked out. WHO WINS????”

Considering “Bones” once bragged about beating up Daniel Cormier after a weekend of the white stuff, my bet is on Jon Jones, who surely doesn’t want his name further associated with street drugs. Besides, Jones is presumably too busy dealing with his own latest legal issues after allegedly assaulting a UFC drug tester.

That’s the height of the weirdness, but all of Garcia’s social media activity today was simply … off. Here’s some other bits and pieces for context:

Maybe the end goal is simply attention, but it’s an unusually way to go about it.

In the ring, Garcia bounced back last year with an eighth-round knockout victory over Oscar Duarte in Houston. As for Haney, he most recently defeated Regis Prograis via decision, retaining his undefeated record and champion status.

April 17, 2024