Sean O’Malley’s plans to take on Ryan Garcia in a crossover boxing match have divided the MMA world, and one former champion is particularly displeased with his plans.
O’Malley has boxed as a professional once before, but is known as one of the most dynamic strikers in the UFC at the moment. He is currently the bantamweight champion, and most recently defended his belt for the first time in a grudge fight with Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera at UFC 299.
Meanwhile, Garcia has emerged as one of modern boxing’s biggest stars and landed his first statement win last weekend against two-weight world champion Devin Haney. He dropped the former undisputed lightweight title holder twice on route to a Majority Decision win at the Barclays Center.
Sean O’Malley details what it will take for him to earn crossover super-fight with Ryan Garcia
Speaking on his TimboSugarShow podcast, O’Malley noted that he must first make himself an undeniable star in the octagon before he can move on to big-money crossover fights. The UFC almost never give their blessing for such bouts, but he says they are receptive so long as he builds his name.
“They told me you can do a boxing fight, 100 percent, if it makes us enough money,” O’Malley explained. “So the option’s there, it just has to be able to make enough money. But Ryan being a f***ing freak like that, you need two A-sides to make a f***ing Floyd-Conor fight.”
Garcia has previously claimed that he would “destroy” O’Malley if the pair were to fight, and even offered to take him on in an unsanctioned bout that would feature limited rules.
Ryan Garcia hits back at Sean O’Malley’s calls for crossover bout after defeating Devin Haney
After the podcast episode, Garcia shared a mocked up fight poster to his Twitter, and noted that he would be willing to face O’Malley. It would be one of the bigger events available to the boxer after his win over Haney, but is still a far cry from happening.
He captioned the post: “RAINBOW CACA BRAIN. WANTS TO BOX. BE PREPARED TO BLEED RAINBOW.” The photo was viewed over 5.8million times on his X page alone, with hundreds of thousands of further views in reposts on other accounts.
Garcia has also noted that he is keen to return to the ring sooner rather than later. He has joked that his post-fight vacation has been similar to the build-up to facing Haney, when he claims he was drinking regularly while struggling with personal issues.
Kamaru Usman takes aim at Sean O’Malley as UFC champion teases potential boxing move
But despite massive interest in a potential bout between O’Malley and Garcia, one UFC legend is not so keen. Former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman believes that with the depth at 135lb, O’Malley must first focus on adding to his one defence before moving to the ring.
“Why are we even entertaining this right now?” Usman asked during a recent episode of his podcast Pound 4 Pound, which he hosts with fellow UFC icon Henry Cejudo. “You have one of the deepest divisions of contenders waiting for you.”
Usman himself once attempted to earn a crossover bout with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, but had defended his 170lb belt multiple times before making such claims. And he feels that O’Malley must first do the same before he can make a claim for a rare boxing fight.
“Why are we entertaining you going here and there?” He asked. “How about we beat up a couple of guys in my division first, and cement myself as a great in my division… before I’m even entertaining these gimmick fights.”