Suspended boxer and social media personality Ryan Garcia experimented with stand-up comedy during his one-year boxing suspension, hoping to explore an alternative career path.
However, after receiving a lukewarm response from the audience during his debut comedy set, Garcia swiftly returned to boxing sooner than anticipated.
Over a busy weekend in Los Angeles, the 25-year-old enjoyed his freedom by engaging in various activities. He participated in a poker game at the Hustler Casino alongside sports stars such as Jimmy Butler and Neymar Jr., among other celebrity high rollers.
In addition to gambling, Garcia also took a shot at stand-up comedy, joining comedian Chris D’Elia on stage at the Laugh Factory to deliver a few jokes of his own.
Known as “King Ryan” on social media for his humor, Garcia’s comedic talents did not resonate well with the live audience. At one point, he struggled to find his words, prompting D’Elia to intervene by reassuring the crowd, “This is his first time, guys, cut him some slack,” and emphasizing the courage it takes to perform on stage.
In response to the tepid reception, Garcia resorted to shadow boxing and throwing erratic punches on stage, akin to the person at a party who repeats the same dance move.
“Worse to worse, I just start shadow boxing,” Garcia admitted, before launching into another underwhelming joke about waking up drunk.
“Trying everything seeing what sticks,” said one unimpressed fan in response to the video on X, formerly Twitter.
“I can’t watch the whole thing,” one comment said. “The cringe factor is too strong”
Another at least gave him credit for trying: “Not a fan of his but it’s cool that he tried it. It’s gotta be one of the more challenging things to try.”