Ryan Garcia says hand surgery was “massive success”

Ryan Garcia underwent surgery on his hand today, and called it a “massive success.”

The hand injury scrapped plans for the 23-year-old Garcia to face Joseph Diaz Jr on Nov. 27 on DAZN, a date the streaming service is now expected to fill with Matchroom’s Teofimo Lopez vs George Kambosos Jr event.

Meanwhile, Diaz (32-1-1, 15 KO) is talking about possibly fighting WBC titleholder Devin Haney instead. Haney will return in early December, and he and promoter Eddie Hearn have thrown out a challenge and say they’ve sent a formal offer to Golden Boy and MTK Global for Diaz.

Garcia (21-0, 18 KO) last fought on Jan. 2, scoring a career-best win over Luke Campbell in Texas, which legitimized his status as a contender in the 135 lb division. He then signed to face Javier Fortuna in July — after passing on an ordered fight with Haney — only to pull out of that to take a mental health break from the sport.

Garcia-Diaz was originally said to be postponed for “a couple months” and could still happen in early 2022 if Diaz opts to stick with that plan instead of fighting Haney instead.