Ryan Garcia is one of the most talented boxing stars to grace the squared ring today. After turning professional at the mere age of seventeen, there was no looking back for the ‘King Ry’. Garcia, who was born in Victorville, was a 15-time national champion when Golden Boy Promotions signed him in 2016.
Having amassed an incredible record of 215-15 as an amateur, the 24-year-old has remained undefeated since turning professional. Outside of boxing, Garcia is known for his controversial life and stellar fashion sense. The Mexican-descent American has trained alongside famous fighters like Canelo Alvarez.
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However, behind his flashy personality and lightening fast knockouts, is a young kid who has a passion for getting inked. Garcia has several tattoos, mostly on his upper body, and he has significance behind each one of them.
What was Ryan Garcia’s first tattoo?
The very first tattoo that Garcia chose to get inked on himself was the word ‘warrior.’ Upon watching closely, an arrow seems to be piercing through the said word. When asked about the reason behind it, Ryan said, “The first tattoo I ever got is the warrior one, that’s just what I am. You understand what I am saying.”
After that, he received a tattoo on his left pec of a highly detailed lion. The tattoo appears right over his ‘heart’ and the animal has a royal crown on top of his head. It signifies the king of the jungle and famous artist, Dr. Woo worked on the piece in 2021.
Ryan Garcia explains his massive back tattoo
Ryan has two pieces of ink on his back. The words ‘Shock the world’ appears on the back of his left shoulder. However, the second tattoo takes up almost the entire real estate on his back. There seems to be a highly-detailed sword pointing downwards, while going through two huge crowns, one below the other.
In an interview, Garcia shared that he’s gonna put the words ‘No Mercy’ on the other side of his shoulder. At the very lower area on his back, the 24-year-old plans to put the words ‘Garcia.’ According to Ryan, the upper crown represents “Jesus, the king of kings.” Whereas the lower crown represents “the little king,” while referring to himself.
Garcia revealed in an Instagram live stream that his back tattoo was the most painful one he has ever gotten. The California resident even advised bringing a numbing cream to save people from the pain.
The laurel crown and the dove tattoo
Ryan got the laurel crown and the dove tattoo both in one sitting. The Mexican-descent fighter has famously made a vlog on these two tattoos on his YouTube channel. According to Garcia, the crown tattoo around his neck symbolizes pride, success, triumph, and beauty.
About the dove tattoo, Garcia shared, “I got [a] dove on my body that represents the holy spirit that guides me.” It is worth noting that Dr. Woo worked on both of the above tattoos as well, in February 2021.
Garcia’s religious significance behind the cross tattoo
Ryan seems to have fallen in love with his initial ‘lion with the crown’ piece because he received another lion on his right chest soon after. And just opposite to the “warrior” tattoo, ‘King Ry‘ got the words “Chosen” written on the right shoulder.
His chest tattoos look sort of symmetrical as there appears to be another dove right below the “Chosen” tattoo. Right in between the two lions appears a cross symbol right in the middle of his chest. This tattoo makes all the sense as Ryan was baptized in 2021 and takes his religion seriously.
Along with the chest cross, there’s one more cross that he got, however, this one is on his right arm. Speaking about the huge and intricately designed tattoo, Garcia shared, “The cross [tattoo signifies] the strength, the power in my right hand. Don’t underestimate the left one either, as it too has got that power.”
The 24-year-old also has a snake tattoo on the same right arm as the cross. Both these tattoos on the forearm appear to collide at one point.
While it appears that Ryan has covered himself with enough ink work, there still seems enough room left for more for the tattoo fanatic. What do you make of these tattoos? Let us know in the comments.