Ryan Garcia vows to hospitalize Floyd Mayweather as he 'announces' February 6 showdown

Ryan Garcia has announced he will fight 49-year-old Floyd Mayweather on February 6 in Las Vegas.

Mayweather, 50-0 (27 KOs), has not competed in a sanctioned bout since he defeated Conor McGregor, 0-1, in 2017. His most recent world title fight came in 2015, when he outpointed Andre Berto over 12 rounds. Mayweather will turn 50 on February 24.

Garcia, the WBC welterweight champion, had been expected to face Teofimo Lopez next in a unification tussle after he thrashed mandatory challenger Conor Benn in September. However, talk of a showdown with Mayweather has escalated in recent weeks.

Garcia, 26-2-0-1 NC (21 KOs) has said plenty in the past that he’ll one day likely regret. His tasteless “announcement” of the Mayweather showdown can be added to that list.

“We have an announcement,” said the 28-year-old.

“We are going to fight Floyd Mayweather on February 6.

“Floyd, we're going to kick your ass. This is not an exhibition. This is a real fight. I'm going to take his zero.

“It's going to be in Vegas. I'm coming to hurt him really badly.

“I want to put him in the hospital for two days. I'm not playing.”

Mayweather still has plenty to resolve

There would still appear to be several obstacles to clear before the bout can take place. Mayweather would have to convince the Nevada commission that he is worthy of a license. But perhaps more troublesome is the veteran’s financial situation.

He is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with CSI Sports, which claims it paid Mayweather in excess of $4 million for exclusive promotional rights to bouts with Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao. The company alleges, however, that Mayweather accepted money from Netflix in relation to the Pacquiao rematch.

According to reports, CSI Sports insist Garcia must fulfil his obligations to participate in both bouts before competing in another contest.

Should all of that be resolved, it remains unclear whether Garcia’s WBC welterweight title would be on the line. However, should Mayweather be able to make 147lbs for the first time since 2015, the sanctioning body’s president, Mauricio Sulaiman, has confirmed that the WBC would support the contest.

Sulaiman acknowledged that fighters such as Muhammad Ali, Julio Cesar Chavez and Mike Tyson had demonstrated why comebacks of this nature are generally a bad idea. But he cited one example that could be deemed a success: Manny Pacquiao, who returned last year to hold then-WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios to a draw.

"He was criticised, and we were criticised for allowing that fight, and he almost became champion,” Sulaiman reasoned.

"It is a matter of evaluating if Floyd has full medicals and has a boxing license.

"The rules of the WBC rulebook allow him to fight for the title.”

Should the contest take place for the WBC title, it would mean that, collectively, the last two fighters to challenge for the belt had not competed in the weight class for a combined 15 years.

Prior to challenging Garcia, Benn had not made welterweight since 2022.