Ryan Garcia told boxing fans and media to ignore his bizarre behavior ahead of his fight with Devin Haney. That proved impossible for many, but Garcia made his point on Saturday night, dropping Haney three times en route to a majority decision victory in a thrilling bout.
Garcia's big moments started early, with a left hook in the opening minute of the fight buzzing, but not dropping, Haney. The champion managed to recover and outbox Garcia for several rounds before another left hook landed for Garcia in the seventh round, this time putting Haney on the canvas for the first time in his career. Garcia caused a bit of harm to his big moment, punching Haney on the break as Haney tried to clinch and recover, leading the referee to deduct a point and resulting in a 9-8, rather than 10-8, round for Garcia.
"He got wobbled bad, I'm surprised he has such good heart and recovery," Garcia said of his first-round shot. "I cracked him in that first round. I thought it was over. I thought 'I won, easy work.' And then he came out firing in the second, even hurt me with a hook. I was like 'Damn, maybe you do got a little power.'"
From that point, every time Haney recovered and started to box well again, frequently causing Garcia to turn his back and shell up. However, he would get caught by another one of Garcia's patented left hooks.
Those hooks led to knockdowns in the 10th and 11th rounds, with Garcia nearly scoring another in the 11th, which likely would have ended the fight.
"I mean, my left hook is my left hook," Garcia said of the shot that scored all three of his knockdowns. "That's blessed by God. Whenever I land it, it can put you down or out."
Those knockdowns allowed Garcia to pull ahead in the late stretches before officially winning by scores of 112-112, 114-110 and 115-109. CBS Sports scored the fight 113-111 for Garcia.
Many had discounted Garcia's chances to win the fight after he spent the previous months engaging in bizarre social media tirades about various conspiracy theories, including discussions about the Illuminati and aliens. Garcia also was seen in clubs as recently as fight week, leading to speculation he wasn't taking the fight seriously.
To top things off, Haney repeatedly said Garcia looked heavy and wouldn't make weight. Garcia bet Haney he would be on weight during Thursday's press conference, only to miss weight by more than three pounds on Friday.
Haney and Garcia reached a financial deal to move ahead with the fight, with Garcia going on social media and claiming not making weight was a part of his plan and had set him up with a physical advantage.
"Come on, guys, you really thought I was crazy?" Garcia said after the fight of his pre-fight behavior. "You done lost your whole mind."
Garcia's weight miss did prove detrimental in one major way. Haney's WBC junior welterweight championship was supposed to be on the line in Brooklyn, but Garcia was not eligible to win the belt after missing weight.
"He caught me early when I was sleeping on him," Haney said after the fight. "He caught me by surprise. I fell asleep on the left hook. We trained for it, but I got in there and I fell asleep and he caught me with it. I was more surprised than hurt, I wasn't really that hurt."
While Garcia didn't win the first world title of his career, he did put himself in position to do so in a second meeting between the two quickly as both Garcia and Haney expressed a desire for a rematch.
All reports ahead of the fight were that Haney could still lose the championship, with the title going vacant should Garcia win. However, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman tweeted after the fight, "Congratulations to Ryan Garcia defying all obstacles and winning a huge fight. Congratulations to Devin Haney for showing his huge heart and class. Just as in Corrales vs Castillo 2 , with the challenger not making weight, Haney remains WBC champion."
After Saturday's thriller, there's probably no more lucrative fight for either man, and Garcia likely has his eyes on finally becoming a world champion. So the rematch could come before the end of 2024.
The undercard on Saturday was lacking for thrills. Arnold Barboza Jr. struggled to a split decision win over Sean McComb in the co-feature. Many pundits on social media believed that McComb had done plenty to win the bout. Meanwhile, Bektemir Melikuziev picked up a technical decision over Pierre Dibombe after a gigantic cut was opened on Melikuziev's left eye lid. The fight was stopped in the eighth round for safety reasons, leading to the technical decision. And David Jimenez outboxed John Ramirez to earn a unanimous decision and the WBA interim flyweight title.
CBS Sports was with you throughout the entire way on Saturday with live results and highlights below.
Fight card, results
- Ryan Garcia def. Devin Haney (c) via majority decision (112-112, 114-110, 115-109)
- Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. Sean McComb via split decision (92-98, 96-94, 97-93)
- Bektemir Melikuziev def. Pierre Dibombe via technical decision (79-73, 79-73, 78-74)
- David Jimenez def. John Ramirez via unanimous decision (117-111, 117-111, 116-112)
- Charles Conwell def. Nathaniel Gallimore via sixth-round TKO
Garcia ineligible to win title after missing weight on Friday
Haney vs. Garcia scorecard, live coverage
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haney (c) | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 111 |
| Garcia | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 113 |
