Ryan Garcia fires shot at Sean O’Malley over potential crossover fight: “Couldn’t hold my gym bag”

It appears that Ryan Garcia doesn’t seem to take UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley very seriously.

‘Sugar’ is currently slated to return to the octagon in March, at UFC 299. There, he will face Marlon Vera in his first title defense. Sean O’Malley famously captured the gold with a second-round knockout win over Aljamain Sterling last August. Now, he will look to avenge his one career loss to ‘Chito’ next month.

Since his title win last year, Sean O’Malley has made a lot of big predictions for his future. One thing that the champion has shown interest in, is heading to the boxing ring. In fact, he later revealed that he already discussed the prospect of facing names such as Ryan Garcia, with top UFC brass. Not only that, but they’ve approved the idea.

“I feel like I’m going to box someday, I know that.” Sean O’Malley stated on The MMA Hour in November when asked about a potential move to the boxing ring. “Those guys [Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis] aren’t pay-per-view guys, they don’t really sell. They said that Ryan Garcia is like, if any of them were to be a fight, he would be the one that had the most potential for me, as far as just a big pay-per-view. The UFC said ‘If it makes us money, we’ll do it’.”

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Ryan Garcia slams UFC champion Sean O’Malley over talk of future fight

While Sean O’Malley believes a future boxing match with Ryan Garcia makes sense, the boxer himself doesn’t feel the same way. Earlier today, ‘KingRy’ responded to a fan on social media, who asked about a potential bout with ‘Sugar’. Based on his comments, it’s safe to say that he doesn’t believe the fight would be competitive.

“Sean O’Malley couldn’t hold my gym bag,” Ryan Garcia wrote on social media earlier this week, responding to a fan. “Let alone be able to box with me.”

While Sean O’Malley is currently booked for his return, Ryan Garcia is attempting to figure out his next bout. In December, the boxer scored a knockout win over Oscar Duarte, the first since suffering a loss to Gervonta Davis that spring. Following the win, Garcia was in discussions to face Rolando Romero, as well as Devin Haney.

However, ‘Rolly’ later booked a fight opposite Isaac Cruz, slated for March. As a result, Ryan Garcia has instead focused on securing a bout with ‘The Dream’. As of now, the two are expected to fight on pay-per-view on April 20th in Las Vegas. However, based on Garcia’s recent luck with booking fights, that’s far from a guarantee.

What do you make of these comments? Do you have any interest in seeing UFC champion Sean O’Malley face Ryan Garcia? Who do you have in that potential matchup?