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.
Garcia ineligible to win title after missing weight on Friday
| 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 |
Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia -- Round 12: Garcia continued to charge and Haney received a warning for a punch behind the head. Both men connected with right hands. Garcia landed two right hands cleanly. Haney popped a few jabs as Garcia started dancing and taunting but Haney did nothing to try and take advantage. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Garcia (113-111 Garcia)
Official result: Ryan Garcia def. Devin Haney via majority decision (112-112, 114-110, 115-109)
Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia -- Round 11: Haney whipped in a few left hands. Garcia again shelled up and turned his back as Haney threw shots. Garcia landed another left hook that bothered Haney. Garcia landed a good right and another left hand that dropped Haney again! Haney beat the count once again, leaving Garcia frustrated. Haney again survived the round. Unofficial scorecard: 10-8 Garcia (103-102 Garcia)
Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia -- Round 10: Haney landed a right hand early and a left hook after. Garcia landed a good right hand and a left hook after and another left that sent Haney to the canvas again! Haney beat the count and Garcia landed a body shot and a good right hand. Haney began to clinch again. Garcia didn't release the clinch and both men received a stern warning. Garcia again shelled up and turned his back, which continued to be the strangest strategy he could employ. Haney whipped with a big left and Garcia landed another heavy left hook, stumbling Haney. Garcia threw everything he had trying to put Haney back down. Unofficial scorecard: 10-8 Garcia (94-93 Haney)
Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia -- Round 9: Garcia continued to turn his back when Haney got inside. Haney cracked with two good left hooks. Garcia received a warning for holding, which seemed to frustrate him. Haney landed a good right hand as Garcia's output slowed dramatically in the round. Both men landed good right hands and Garcia turned his back again, allowing Haney to land several shots to the body. Garcia tried to fire back but didn't land cleanly. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Haney (86-83)
Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia -- Round 8: Garcia came out hard, throwing a good right hand. Garcia landed a right hand and another left hook. Haney was struggling to recover. Haney started to look a bit steadier midway through the round. Garcia spent a lot of time when Haney came forward turning sideways and ducking down. A close round that could be scored either way. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Garcia (76-74 Haney)
Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia -- Round 7: Garcia clinched several times at the start of the round before Haney picked off a few left hooks with his gloves. Garcia landed a big left hand and Haney went down to the canvas! A big knockdown! Haney struggled back to his feet and Garcia poured it on, throwing hooks and uppercuts as Hney tried to hold on and Garcia hit on the break, losing a point in his best round of the fight and giving Haney a chance to recover. Garcia landed again and Haney slipped to the canvas, with the referee ruling it was not a knockdown. Garcia threw Haney to the canvas, again not ruled a knockdown. Haney continued to hold on. Garcia landed a right hand and Haney continued the clinching, trying to just survive the round. What a bizarre round! Unofficial scorecard: 9-8 Garcia (67-64 Haney)
Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia -- Round 6: Garcia opened the round with a huge flurry, landing some clean shots, though Haney took them well. Haney got right back to applying pressure, landing a right hand and forcing Garcia to clinch. Haney trapped Garcia against the ropes so Haney unloaded with body shots and Garcia turned his back, leading the referee to give a strange warning to Haney for punching Garcia as Garcia voluntarily turned his back. The crowd began to boo as Garcia got on his bike and tried to disengage from Haney's pressure. Garcia had a nice moment early but that was it for the round. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Haney (59-55)
Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia -- Round 5: Garcia flurried with big punches but missed all of them and ate a left to the body. Haney landed a good counter right hand and Garcia started to circle again. Garcia's circling continued without letting his hands go before finally throwing a right hand that glanced off Haney's head. Haney connected with another one-two against the ropes and a big left hook moments later. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Haney (49-46)
Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia -- Round 4: Garcia connected a bit in a flurry before Haney landed a left hand to the body. Haney landed a right hand before Garcia clinched up. Haney landed a left hook and pushed into the corner, forcing Garcia to clinch, which he didn't release and both men received a warning from the referee. Garcia landed a good right hand and the clinches continued. Haney's feints started to draw out wild misses from Garcia this round and Garcia started circling away along the outside of the ring. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Haney (39-37)
Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia -- Round 3: Garcia landed a short right hand on the inside early but ate a big right from Haney seconds later. Garcia landed the right again, catching Haney coming in. Garcia whiffed on a left hook and Haney landed one in return. Haney pooped Garcia with two jabs and a left hook Haney landed a big left hook that sent Garcia stumbling back and Garcia smacked his gloves together in frustration. Haney takes another round. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Haney (29-28)
Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia -- Round 2: Haney came out trying to establish the jab once again and fired a good right hand behind that jab moments later. Haney started slipping Garcia's hook with ease and smashing the jab home. Haney landed the right again, maintaining distance and clinching whenever Garcia got inside. Haney landed a heavy one-two combo as Garcia started to look a bit lost once Haney got on track. Haney landed a few more jabs in the final seconds and slipped a Garcia power shot with ease. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Haney (19-19)
Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia -- Round 1: Garcia came out flashing the left hook and popping a jab, both of which missed. Garcia did land a few short punches and then a big left hand that had Haney rocked less than a minute into the round. Garcia continued to fire away with his big punches, keeping Haney on the back foot and moving toward the ropes. Garcia landed another left hand. Haney fired out a good jab as he looked a little hesitant to engage fully after feeling Garcia's power. Haney started to move forward, popping Garcia with good jabs. Hard to ask for a better start to the fight than that for Garcia. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Garcia
Garcia and Haney are in the ring for pre-fight introductions. The main event is mere minutes away.
After yet another terrible decision in a sport simply filled with them, it's nearly time for the main event. Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia, coming shortly
