More than a year has passed since boxing sensation Ryan Garcia has stepped inside the ring. But that will change Saturday when the undefeated fighter makes his highly-anticipated return at the Alamodome in San Antonio against Emmanuel Tagoe.
To celebrate his comeback, Gymshark has created a campaign for its athlete ambassador, aptly titled “The Return of Ryan Garcia.”
The effort, which was put together by creative think tank Prettybird, was created to showcase Garcia’s ability to overcome obstacles both inside and outside the ring, and gives credit to his family for being his support system. What’s more, Gymshark said the campaign aims to show viewers the power of perseverance and that it is important to own the journey rather than solely focus on the destination.
“This campaign reflects where I come from and that I’m just a normal kid coming from Victorville [California], but [if you look] within yourself you can become great. It shows my journey coming from a garage [as my gym], and that I never took no for an answer — my family as well,” Garcia told FN. “We grinded, they believed in me and I believed in myself. It shows that no matter where you’re from, if you could find something within you, then you could do great things regardless of what things look like on the surface.”
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The video — which is just short of three minutes — is voiced-over by his father, Henry Garcia, and features a cameo from his younger brother, Sean Garcia. To end the clip, Gymshark offered a statement that should resonate with everyone looking to improve, not just Garcia: “It’s not about where you’re from, but how far you’re prepared to go.”
“Everything comes from within you. If you have greatness within you, if you can find that, you can become anything you want to be,” Garcia said.
For footwear, the 23-year-old fighter said he favors the Nike HyperKO boxing boot in the ring. During training camp, Garcia — who is typically style-savvy with a healthy love of Nike Dunks, designer shoes and anything Off-White — admitted to wearing one pair of Nike running shoes into the ground.
“I run six miles every day, and I run my shoes into the ground. I don’t really care how bad they look, I just keep running. They can have holes in them, I don’t really care,” Garcia said with a laugh.
But this week, Gymshark has created something stylish for Garcia to wear so he can remain focused on his fight.
Gymshark, with the help of London-based embroidery studio Hand & Lock, has created a tracksuit for Garcia — who is nicknamed King Ryan — that is fit for boxing royalty. The seamstress who applied the embroidery patches for Garcia’s tracksuit, according to Gymshark, has worked at Hand & Lock — the embroidery house that provides embellishment services to the royal family — for 50 years, and has previously embroidered on a dress for Princess Diana.
The tracksuit, Gymshark said, features elements that fuel Garcia for every fight, with nods to his heritage, faith, family and fatherhood. Details on the tracksuit include his daughters’ names in each cuff, a dedication to his grandmother written in his handwriting above his heart and more.
Gymshark said Garcia will wear the tracksuit this week at different events leading up to his fight Saturday night.
Garcia, who sports a record of 21-0, was last in the ring in January 2021 when he knocked out decorated British boxer Luke Campbell in the seventh round. The win over Campbell was his fifth straight victory by way of knockout.
For his matchup against Tagoe, he has a new trainer in his corner in boxing icon Joe Goossen. “We have a good chemistry and the way we communicate, we have our own language. You’re going to see it unfold in more fights,” Garcia said.
After a year away from the ring, Garcia said he wants to fight three times in 2022.
“I expect to dominate everyone I step in the ring with, to run everyone over, and I expect to become the best fighter I could be,” Garcia said. “I couldn’t to do that if I didn’t try my hardest, so I’ll be giving everything I can into the sport. Whatever matchup comes about is meant to be, and I’ll be able to run that guy over.”
Garcia’s fight against Tagoe will air live on Saturday on Dazn at 9 p.m. ET.
