Ryan Garcia asked boxing fans and media to overlook his strange actions before his match with Devin Haney. Many couldn’t ignore it, but Garcia proved his point on Saturday night by defeating Haney with a majority decision in an exciting fight.
Garcia’s significant moments began early, as he landed a powerful left hook in the first minute of the fight, stunning Haney but not knocking him down.
Haney managed to recover and outbox Garcia for several rounds until Garcia landed another left hook in the seventh round, causing Haney to fall for the first time in his career.
However, Garcia spoiled his success by hitting Haney while they were separating, leading to a point deduction by the referee and resulting in a 9-8 round instead of a 10-8 round for Garcia.
After that, every time Haney recovered and started boxing well again, Garcia’s left hooks would catch him off guard. These hooks resulted in knockdowns in the 10th and 11th rounds, with Garcia nearly knocking Haney down again in the 11th, which would likely have ended the fight.
“My left hook is a powerful weapon,” Garcia explained about the punch that caused all three knockdowns. “It’s something special that I’ve been blessed with. Whenever it lands, it can really hurt you or knock you down.”
These knockdowns helped Garcia take the lead in the later rounds before officially winning with scores of 112-112, 114-110, and 115-109.
Many doubted Garcia’s chances of winning after he spent months on social media discussing strange conspiracy theories, including the Illuminati and aliens. He was also seen partying in clubs just before the fight, raising doubts about his commitment.
Additionally, Haney repeatedly mentioned that Garcia looked heavy and wouldn’t make weight. Although Garcia bet Haney that he would make weight during the press conference, he ended up missing the weight limit by over three pounds the next day.
Despite the weight issue, Garcia and Haney agreed to proceed with the fight after reaching a financial agreement. Garcia later claimed on social media that missing weight was part of his plan to gain a physical advantage.
“After the fight, Garcia dismissed concerns about his behavior before the fight, saying, “Did you really think I was crazy? You’ve completely lost your mind.”
However, Garcia’s weight miss had a significant consequence. The WBC junior welterweight championship, which was supposed to be on the line in the fight, was not eligible for Garcia to win due to missing weight.
Although Garcia didn’t win his first world title in this fight, he positioned himself for a potential rematch with Haney, as both fighters expressed interest in facing each other again soon.
