Avery Sparrow arrested, fight with Ryan Garcia off

Ryan Garcia and Avery Sparrow were set to lead-off the weigh-ins at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel today in Carson, California, but then something unexpected happened.

Sparrow was a nowhere to be found.

Garcia and his team waited as the weigh-ins for all of the other bouts on Golden Boy’s Mexican Independence Weekend Card ended, and Sparrow remained a no-show.

Apparently, U.S. Marshals had been searching for him since Wednesday and Sparrow was arrested on an outstanding charge. The news is disappointing, as Sparrow would have likely been the most difficult fighter that Garcia has faced to date.

When it was clear that Sparrow wasn’t coming to the hotel, Garcia stepped on the scale and weighed in at an even 135lbs. Garcia was noticeably upset about the no-show, and proceeded to grab the microphone. He said, “I just want to know where he’s at. You know he [Sparrow] talked a lot and I don’t see him here. He told me he makes 126 easily and I don’t know where he’s at. Somebody call him, somebody ring him up. Let’s get this on.”

The Garcia vs. Sparrow has been scratched, and instead another bout will be the co-main to the main event featuring Jaime Munguia vs. Patrick Allotey. The fight business is volatile and unpredictable, and on many occasions, things do not go as planned at fighter weigh-ins. Avery Sparrow’s situation is by no means an anomaly, but one of the most anticipated fights of the weekend is now canceled.