Ryan Garcia sat down with Chris Williamson on the Modern Wisdom podcast and opened up about Zuffa Boxing, the Muhammad Ali Act, and his concerns about where the future of boxing could be heading.
When Williamson brought up the Zuffa deal, Garcia admitted he was still unsure about the direction the promotion was trying to take.
“That’s a little weird,” Garcia said. “I don’t know exactly what kind of changes they’re trying to make to the Ali Act to benefit Zuffa, or I don’t know what they’re trying to do.”
He clarified that he was not opposed to Zuffa Boxing itself, but felt it was too early to fully support or criticize the idea.
“And I’m not saying I’m against Zuffa at all,” he continued. “I just want to give it time before I even want to acknowledge it too much, because I don’t know if it’s going to make us not get paid as much. I don’t know if it’s going to make the sport better.”
For now, Garcia said he prefers to stay patient and observe how things develop.
“So I kind of wanted to sit back and watch what kind of unfolds there,” he added.
Garcia then discussed what he understood about the recent Ali Act hearings. While he admitted he did not know every detail, he explained the general impression he got from the discussions involving WWE President Nick Khan and boxing promoter Oscar De La Hoya.
“I don’t know if it’s Dana White, but I know Nick Khan spoke at Congress and Oscar did,” Garcia said. “Oscar on the side of not changing anything, and then Nick was trying to change things.”
Still, he said Oscar De La Hoya’s argument stood out to him because it focused on protecting boxers.
“But that was Oscar’s point,” Garcia continued. “Oscar’s point was this was made to protect the boxers and make sure that everything’s just transparent.”
When the conversation shifted toward boxing potentially adopting a UFC-style structure, Garcia made it clear he does not want the sport to lose its identity.
“I’m all up for change, but as long as it makes sense,” he said. “As long as it’s like, all right, we’re evolving in the right direction.”
However, he quickly drew a line at boxing becoming too similar to the UFC model.
“I don’t want it to become the UFC,” Garcia added. “That’s what I’m saying. Zuffa is cool, but if it looks too much like the UFC that I’m like, not my vibe.”
Garcia also pointed to sponsorship limitations as one of the major downsides of that structure.
“And then you can’t wear your own shorts,” he said. “Your sponsored money is going to go away.”
Beyond the financial concerns, Garcia said he values the spectacle and presentation that make boxing unique.
“I like the style of boxing,” he explained. “I like the shorts. I like the walkouts. I like the grand entrances that you could do.”
