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Modern Wisdom

"They Wanted A Bad Guy, So I Became One" - Ryan Garcia - #1097

14 May 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What does it feel like to be the bad boy of boxing?

0.031 - 25.33 Ryan Garcia

i'm fascinated by you saying that you don't think when you're in the ring what's happening i'm just picking up on cues really um and then kind of like there's these instincts and intuition that are just kind of there you know like oh maybe like you kind of get a feeling where okay i need to start putting pressure on this man or i need to you know uh move a little bit it's just like kind of momentum shifts that you're kind of noticing little by little and then um

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26.018 - 42.744 Ryan Garcia

There's obviously times where I'm thinking, like sometimes I'll just have like mantras in my head, like that I've done in camp, you know, stay focused. Like my last fight the whole time when I was fighting him, I would just say like, stay focused, stay focused, stay focused, you know? So it was just like little things that I would say in my mind, but I'm not really necessarily thinking.

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43.225 - 46.671 Ryan Garcia

Not thinking. But thinking.

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47.011 - 53.241 Unknown

But yeah, of course. Does that mean when you look back on a fight, how much of it can you remember?

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53.491 - 77.001 Ryan Garcia

the pivotal moments like um like my last fight uh i remember i started getting comfortable in like the 11th round just messing with the guy smacking him looking at the trainer and then lowering my hand a little bit and then you know tasting her right hand i was like don't do that and then kind of like snapping myself back in so i remember those moments i remember

76.981 - 84.292 Ryan Garcia

You know, when I dropped them, but I mean, for the most part, I have to like look back at the fight to really recall most of it.

84.493 - 98.755 Unknown

And that's strange. It is weird. It's so strange. So I'm friends with musicians, comedians, sports people, and I do live stuff to these conversations. Once you get into a flow state and you're not thinking that much and things are just happening.

98.855 - 98.955

Yeah.

99.998 - 117.556 Unknown

That's what people want to get to. It's really enjoyable. It's where your performance is at its best. You're moving quickly. Your brain isn't getting in the way of what you're supposed to do. Yeah. But it's also the thing that kind of robs you of your memory because you're not thinking and you're just doing. You can't remember. It's so funny.

Chapter 2: How did Ryan Garcia's childhood influence his boxing career?

957.283 - 975.196 Ryan Garcia

I'll show you a real piece of shit. I'll drink, I'll smoke, and I'll talk so much shit. And I was just so angry. I was angry at the boxing community because they never gave me my credit. You know, I've been fighting since I was seven and I was looked at as some just bum that's going to just get his ass whipped by this guy.

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975.256 - 998.271 Ryan Garcia

Even though I beat him three times in the amateurs, it's not like, you know, and I was a 15-time national champion. So I just felt really disrespected by people. And just life. I was like, all right, I'm going to give them what they want. They want a bad dude, I'll give you a bad dude. And like I said, I let them change me for a time. I let them break me and become a person that I'm not.

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999.553 - 1019.633 Ryan Garcia

And I was just fueled with anger and I wanted to hurt them bad. That's all I was thinking in my head. Like when I came with a shirt, murder on my mind, I was dead serious. I wanted to murder that man in the ring. But he also wanted to murder me. He said it. He said it. He actually was the first one to say it. He was like, he's like, we're going to we're going to this is the death of Ryan Garcia.

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1019.653 - 1040.923 Ryan Garcia

And then I just snapped when he said that. I was like, oh, you want to go death? Let's go. So, yeah, I just remember that time as I was filled with anger and nothing was going to stop me. I didn't care. I got in fights with my trainer, my dad, everybody. I was just angry. Everyone's getting it. And sparring. Like, they were screaming. And I was like, I don't care. Let's keep going.

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1041.504 - 1056.966 Ryan Garcia

Like, I was just filled with anger at that moment. And anger and emotion. I would cry a lot, too. I was crying. Just so mad about what people were calling me crazy. Things like that, you know? And then...

1058.397 - 1083.713 Ryan Garcia

you know a lot of the stuff I was talking about okay yes a little bit was played into conspiracy and all that but when it came to like the children and you know children sex trafficking I was dead serious about that like that was been on my mind since I seen uh I mean I've always known about this kind of stuff it's kind of always floated around but then when it's like in your face and now like now that everybody sees it it's kind of different but back then it's like

1085.633 - 1105.983 Ryan Garcia

if it's a billion dollar industry, like where's all the money coming from? You know what I mean? And it was kind of that thing that I felt like there wasn't enough said and that there's so many other movements that people get behind, but like kids, like we can't all come together and be like, Hey, should probably look into this. It really did upset me. And I was already angry.

1106.043 - 1117.402 Ryan Garcia

So all that together, just kind of one big, you know, boom. And then, yeah. Um, but yeah, I don't regret that part.

Chapter 3: What sacrifices did Ryan make for his boxing success?

1118.183 - 1138.894 Ryan Garcia

You know, uh, I brought awareness to it, even though it came out of something ugly in my, you know, how I, you know, displayed it, but a lot of people started looking into it and they're, oh shit, this is actually kind of true. And, uh, now that I teamed up with like Tim Tebow and his foundation and we're actually making real steps. Um, I'm happy. When were you first exposed to that stuff?

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1139.819 - 1168.283 Ryan Garcia

and uh it's weird man so again might not be believable but i was like in 2021 after i defeated luke campbell i had a weird vision i don't know how but like i seen like it was like some image playing in my mind and i just kind of followed it i don't know why but it was like a beast or some animal coming out of a sea and then i seen like uh pretty much a bridge.

0

1168.343 - 1185.807 Ryan Garcia

And in my brain, I was like, okay, San Francisco. And then like, it just showed like people in the woods. And then it showed people doing weird things and conjuring up weird things and doing weird things to like. Were you dreaming or were you awake? No, I was awake. I swear, it was so weird. Just the image playing in my brain.

0

1186.225 - 1199.799 Ryan Garcia

And, uh, I looked into like, is there things in the woods in San Francisco? And it's like Bohemian Grove. And I was like, Oh shit, that was a weird thing to see. And then I look it up and there's actually people that come into the woods. That's like a straight coincidence.

0

1199.819 - 1226.025 Ryan Garcia

So I looked into it and, uh, yeah, then that's when you see Alex Jones talking about it and, uh, all these conspiracy things, but then actually it was real. They do meet up in the woods and, uh, They sacrifice, I mean, it's fake, right? It's effigies, but sacrifice something to an owl or whatever. So part of it is a little freaky that these politicians and people do meet in the woods.

1226.486 - 1241.908 Unknown

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Chapter 4: How does anger impact performance in boxing?

2152.01 - 2170.158 Unknown

Couldn't make it work. Couldn't make it work. Couldn't make it work. You think, how... Why? Why can't there be a way? But it's because there's all of these different territories, basically different countries inside of a single sport who are all competing for dominance. And one person's got this and one person's got another. It's the wild, wild west. You think?

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2170.418 - 2195.826 Ryan Garcia

Yeah, it is. Everybody's like, yes, there's like, like you said, it's very established and has a rich history. And, you know, the major players are the major players, but... everyone's pretty much, it's a free-for-all. Everybody's out for themselves. And it's like, hopefully the business makes sense that two entities just come together. All right, let's do it. So, you know, a bit of it is kind of

0

2195.806 - 2212.819 Ryan Garcia

Fun, because, like, everybody gets a chance to make something huge happen. But, you know, the sad part is that a lot of the fights don't happen because a lot of these promoters become greedy and they want to get more and then, you know...

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2212.799 - 2233.879 Unknown

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2251.704 - 2268.286 Unknown

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2284.568 - 2310.795 Ryan Garcia

slash modern wisdom that's drinkag1.com slash modern wisdom what's the main reason that fights don't happen is it money disagreements uh i would say splits money and some of these fighters overvalue themselves sometimes or they act like they really want to fight but they really don't so they hide behind the promoter and say oh

2311.18 - 2338.217 Ryan Garcia

We couldn't make the deal work when secretly I just didn't want to step in the ring. I just didn't even want to step in the ring. So a lot of it's that. I do think that boxing could become a little bit more slicker and sleek, like you said, with the UFC. We could cut out a lot of the bullshit. There's new ways to promote a fight than the standard. You know? I mean, but...

Chapter 5: What are Ryan Garcia's thoughts on his rivals like Jake Paul and Conor McGregor?

3100.862 - 3123.297 Ryan Garcia

Yeah, you just realize taxes is a real thing, and you're like, ah, God, I can't really be buying all that. You know what I mean? I bought every car I wanted, and then I realized this is stupid, and then... Then I went through a little gambling type of thing I like to do. And then I was like, this is even more stupid than the car thing. Yeah.

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3123.317 - 3144.133 Ryan Garcia

And then you kind of just realize like all of it's pretty dumb. Yeah. Yeah. This is a waste of money and nobody really even cares. And it's just like, it's just like all just like stupid. At the end of the day, it's like all materialistic things that you don't really get anything out of it. I mean, unless you're trying to impress a girl or whatever. But that's maybe it.

0

3144.213 - 3165.122 Ryan Garcia

And most girls, like... The ones that are impressed by that stuff are probably not the ones that are interested. Are probably not the ones that you want to be around. But, yeah, I kind of learned all that quick. And then... And then I just have a good squad, good team around me that cares, and they don't want me to go broke, and I don't want to go broke one day. It's too many stories like that.

0

3165.162 - 3193.481 Ryan Garcia

Mike Tyson ran through 100 mil, and he ran it back in the 90s, so fuck. Yeah, what's that worth today? $200, $250, something like that. That's serious money. Yeah. Yeah, I don't want to end up like that, so I just kind of, I just know that I have to be focused and keep my head straight and just try my best to not make any big financial mistakes anymore.

0

3193.921 - 3206.014 Unknown

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, again, in some ways, I suppose, learning that lesson, going from lots to not so much on a million, that's a good lesson to learn where you go, ow.

3205.994 - 3235.663 Unknown

I'm not broke but I'm like back to basically baseline after I had a lot that's a good lesson to learn on a million it's a worse lesson to learn on a hundred million so the same way as you said you know there was some lessons that I missed in my teenage years that I had to learn in my twenties well there's some lessons people learn in their forties that you managed to learn in your twenties that's why I feel blessed I'm like dude I learned a lot of all this shit like pretty early like everything I wanted in life came pretty quick like I wanted to be a superstar fighter and it became quick and

3235.913 - 3256.062 Ryan Garcia

I wanted this, and it came quick. But then you're like, oh, shit, like... I'm actually happy it came quick because if it didn't, then like I said, you would learn it 30, 35 years old, 40. And you're just like. With more money, with bigger problems. With less opportunity to make more too. Correct. I can't fix it in the same way. You can't fix it. So I truly am blessed.

3256.223 - 3270.202 Ryan Garcia

But, you know, you could always make a mistake. I mean, you could always go back down that road, you know. Your vices could take you there, your ego, your pride. well, I got this much money now, I could really fuck off.

3270.222 - 3285.563 Unknown

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Chapter 6: How does Ryan cope with fame and pressure in his career?

4210.266 - 4233.313 Ryan Garcia

Like... I have something for him. Let's go. And he goes, are you sure? Like he was pretty much whooping your ass. Like, let's just wait a little bit. I was like, no, call him the next day. I figured something out. And it was when he would step forward, he would show his jab. So like he would step and then show the jab. So I had caught on to it in my brain when I was replaying it.

0

4233.293 - 4250.503 Ryan Garcia

So I told my dad, every time he makes that move, I'm going to cut to the right and hit him with the right hand. And I guarantee you he won't stop that because he can't stop doing this. So every time he came in, I would catch him. And my dad was like, how do you figure that in a day? I was like, I don't know. I just kept thinking about it.

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4250.563 - 4265.545 Ryan Garcia

Like he kept on catching me with that shot, but there has to be something that like I'm doing wrong or I'm not reading or something. And my dad's all, he always thinks about that story. He's like, that's all I knew. Like you're different. Cause I w I could come back the next day and I'll be a whole different fight.

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4266.587 - 4276.902 Ryan Garcia

Like, I don't know how, but I just like the next day, like the guy, if he thinks he got an edge, like, bro, I've been thinking about this all day. So I tried to tell my little brother, like after sparring, you need to just think,

0

4277.253 - 4301.59 Ryan Garcia

go in your room and just think think think like why did this happen why did that happen like like what was he doing that was throwing me off there was a couple instances like that in the ring it's like hmm there has to be something here you know what i mean so yeah i've learned so much things in boxing like just the whole aspect of it it's like it's almost like music notes i started learning that like

4302.143 - 4320.542 Ryan Garcia

Like when you're in the ring, it's like boom, boom, boom, boom. And then when something feels off, that means because some note was off, you know what I mean? Like some movement. Okay. Oh, I read that wrong. That's where it was. Okay. Boom. So it's like, it really is like a whole level of just like, beautifulness. Like, that's why I said I really love boxing.

4320.602 - 4324.186 Ryan Garcia

There's so much little things in it that like, get me excited.

4324.346 - 4345.549 Unknown

And so fun. Have you been able to do that during any of your fights as a professional? Or have they been? How often you surprised by that you say most of the time, presumably you're studying tape, you're thinking you're bringing fighters into the gym and the camp that replicate the style that you're probably going to face the whole game is to not be surprised. Yeah, when you get in there, but

4345.681 - 4362.277 Unknown

Presumably that's what the other guy is doing too, which means that they're trying to come up with something that you don't yet know, which might surprise you, which means that you need to go back and you've got, forget two hours in a day, you've got a minute in the corner to be like, why is that thing happening? Have you ever had that happen as a pro?

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