[5] Oscar De La Hoya announced Garcia would make his debut on December 17, 2016, on the Smith-Hopkins light-heavyweight main event at The Forum.

[citation needed] Golden Boy announced Garcia's next bout would be the co-main event of Canelo Álvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

[10] On January 2, 2020, Golden Boy announced Garcia would be facing Francisco Fonseca on February 14 at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

[12] On October 8, it was announced Garcia would be facing Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell for the interim WBC lightweight title at Fantasy Springs Resort in Indio, California.

[18] On April 13, 2021, it was announced by DAZN that Garcia would defend his newly won WBC interim lightweight title against Dominican former WBA (Regular) super featherweight champion, Javier Fortuna.

The bout was set for July 9 in a location to be determined, and the winner would become the mandatory challenger to WBC lightweight champion, Devin Haney.

[20] Former IBF super featherweight champion Joseph Diaz agreed to move up to lightweight to fill in for Garcia and fight Fortuna on July 9.

[23] On October 15, 2021, Mike Coppinger of ESPN revealed that García suffered a hand injury and the fight with Diaz will be postponed.

[24] On February 4, 2022, it was announced that Garcia would be returning to the ring after a long spell of inactivity against former IBO lightweight champion Emmanuel Tagoe on April 9.

[26] On July 16, 2022, Garcia faced Javier Fortuna in a super lightweight bout in Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.

[27] On February 24, 2023, it was announced that Garcia would face Gervonta Davis on April 22, in Las Vegas, Nevada, in a 136 lbs catchweight contest.

Garcia was unable to rise on the referee's count of ten, leading to Gervonta Davis being declared winner via KO.

[citation needed] On February 9, 2024, it was announced that Garcia vs. Devin Haney was signed[36] for April 20 in Las Vegas, Nevada for the WBC super lightweight title.

[40] Garcia responded via social media, denying the accusations and citing his willingness to take the drug test.

[45][46][47][48] On July 4, 2024, Garcia was expelled by the WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán after using racial slurs against black people and disparaging Muslims in comments livestreamed on social media.

[56] His walk out and victory music has frequently been "El Rey" by Vicente Fernández, a reference to Garcia's "King Ryan" nickname.

[61] She also posted screenshots of text messages between her and Garcia, revealing the boxer's alleged aggressive and hostile behavior.

[62] In June 2024, Garcia was arrested for damaging a room and hallway in the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills, California.