Ryan Garcia was in “a whole different universe” this time last year.

The polarizing Garcia admitted during a wide-ranging interview with boxing personalities Akin Reyes and Barak Bess that he drank alcohol and did drugs regularly during the buildup toward his ill-fated fight against rival Devin Haney last April 20 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. A divorce and custody battle over his son led to self-destructive behavior that resulted in Garcia’s arrest nine months ago at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills and made many critics contend he didn’t belong in the ring with Haney 11 months ago.

“I am surprised I’m here right now,” Garcia told “Ak & Barak” during an episode of “RING CHAMPS,” which was posted to its YouTube channel Tuesday. “I was drinking every day, every single day, even the day of the [Haney] fight. The day of the fight, I just got so involved in just trying to cope with whatever was going on inside. And like I said, I been struggling mentally for years, and it just wouldn’t stop for me. So, like I said, that’s how I cope with it.”

Garcia, 26, was also disciplined by the New York State Athletic Commission following his majority-decision victory over Haney because he tested positive for ostarine, a banned substance. The former WBC interim lightweight champ is serving the final month of the NYSAC’s one-year suspension and paid a $1.2 million fine.

The Victorville, California native is scheduled to fight former WBA super lightweight champ Rolando “Rolly” Romero on The Ring’s “FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves” card May 2 at Times Square in New York. DraftKings lists Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs, 1 NC) as an 8-1 favorite to beat North Las Vegas’ Romero (16-2, 13 KOs) in their 12-round welterweight fight, which is going to be broadcast globally by DAZN.

A maturing Garcia is thankful that his time away from boxing eventually enabled him to realize he had to change his ways or it would cost him his career.

“The turning point [was] to realize, like, ‘Damn, bro, I’m f*cking my life up,’ ” Garcia said. “You know, and getting arrested was a big part of it. Almost losing my kid was a huge part of it.”

Garcia was charged with one misdemeanor count of vandalism after he was arrested last June 8 for the abovementioned incident in Beverly Hills. He caused approximately $15,000 worth of damage, according to a Beverly Hills Police Department report.

“I decided to take a bunch of shrooms, something I was doing already,” Garcia recalled of the day he trashed his hotel room. “I took too many and I kinda just lost it, bro. I can’t really say anything else. … I mean, I ended up breaking everything in the room. I really don’t remember, bro. I was drunk and f*cked up.”

An apologetic Garcia reimbursed the hotel for the damage done to his room. He has opened up about his struggles because Garcia is well aware that it’ll take more than an apology to repair the damage done to his reputation.