Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia results, highlights: 'King Ry' springs upset with trio of knockdowns in battle

Garcia put in one of the best performances of his career in dropping the champion multiple times

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

[Apr 21, 2024 at 1:07 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

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)

[Apr 21, 2024 at 1:10 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Official result: Ryan Garcia def. Devin Haney via majority decision (112-112, 114-110, 115-109)

[Apr 20, 2024 at 11:47 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Official result: Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. Sean McComb via split decision (92-98, 96-94, 97-93)

Awful stuff from two of the ringside judges. But it's almost to be expected at this point.

[Apr 20, 2024 at 11:43 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. Sean McComb --  Heading into Round 10, it didn't feel as though Barboza could win without a knockout (CBS had the fight 87-84 coming into the final round). But given Barboza is the "higher-profile fighter" with the higher ranking, McComb couldn't realistically take the final round off. Boxing judges can't be trusted to score the fight the way every other viewer saw, of course. McComb continued to fight the same fight, working at range and popping Barboza. Barboza did manage to open a cut over McComb's right eye late and land a nice flurry against the ropes but it seemed to be too little, too late as the final bell sounded.  

[Apr 20, 2024 at 11:35 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. Sean McComb --  McComb's straight left hand continued to land and catch Barboza clean. Barboza continued to push forward and throw plenty of punches, landing at a similar rate to McComb but his punches just weren't as clean as McComb's and the distance of the fight continued to be mostly controlled by McComb through eight rounds. Barboza entered as the "better contender" with higher ranks in the major sanctioning bodies, but heading into the final two rounds of the 10-round fight, it simply feels like he has been outboxed.  

[Apr 20, 2024 at 11:27 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. Sean McComb --  McComb continued to be too tricky for Barboza on the strength of simple movement and long arms. Barboza spent way too much time in the middle ground, allowing McComb to unload with punches. In Round 6, Barboza started pressuring a little more, trying to put McComb along the robes, but didn't really manage to land anything of significance. Barboza's pressure didn't continue as he switched tactics, attempting to wait and counter, but McComb's shots were the cleaner punches through Round 6.  

[Apr 20, 2024 at 11:16 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. Sean McComb --  McComb got off to a nice start in Round 1, taking odd angles and throwing from distance and making it hard for Barboza to close distance. Barboza started to land some of his right hands in Round 2, getting back on track though McComb's long shots really did continue to make it tricky for Barboza to get into a comfortable range through the finish of the third round.

[Apr 20, 2024 at 10:53 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. Sean McComb is up next in junior welterweight action. Barboza is mostly on the card as he was serving as the backup in case Haney or Garcia was forced to pull out of the main event. Of course, that came closer to happening than the promoters would care to admit. Still, with Garcia missing weight and staying in the main event, Barboza now heads into the fight as a -900 favorite.

[Apr 20, 2024 at 10:50 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Official result: Bektemir Melikuziev def. Pierre Dibombe via technical decision (79-73, 79-73, 78-74)

[Apr 20, 2024 at 10:45 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Bektemir Melikuziev vs. Pierre Dibombe -- At the start of Round 8, the doctor again checked Melikuziev's cut, this time deciding the fight needed to be stopped. It was a fair decision, given the depth and placement of the cut, though Dibombe's cut was not much better. Still, the fight headed to the scorecards after the doctor's decision and it seems as though Melikuziev would be taking the win on the scorecards.  

[Apr 20, 2024 at 10:42 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Bektemir Melikuziev vs. Pierre Dibombe -- Melikuziev's cut from Round 4 was very bad but he still scored a knockdown early in Round 5. The doctor checked the cut shortly after but allowed the fight to continue. The doctor again checked Melikuziev's cut before Round 5 and again allowed the fight to continue. As the fight hit Round 7, Melikuziev's constant pressure and attack started to wear Dibombe down, forcing him to fight off the back foot and along the ropes. Still, Dibombe was trying to land a single shot that would alter the course of the fight.  

[Apr 20, 2024 at 10:31 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Bektemir Melikuziev vs. Pierre Dibombe -- Blood continued to pour from Dibombe's cut and the head clashes continued, a result of Melikuziev's southpaw stance against Dibmobe fighting from orthodox. Melikuziev was still doing the better work, with Dibombe trying to catch him in between shots with counter overhand rights. By the end of Round 4, Melikuziev had a cut over his left eye.  

[Apr 20, 2024 at 10:22 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Bektemir Melikuziev vs. Pierre Dibombe -- Dibombe suffered a cut over his right eye, right along the eyebrow, in Round 1, a result of an accidental clash of heads. The cut was checked by the doctor in the middle of Round 2, but was allowed to continue. Still, Melikuziev did the better work through the first two rounds as Dibombe tried to land a pinpoint right hand to change the trajectory of the fight.

[Apr 20, 2024 at 10:09 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Bektemir Melikuziev vs. Pierre Dibombe is up next in super middleweight action. Melikuziev is a  -1400 favorite and expected to cruise here.

[Apr 20, 2024 at 10:02 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

John "Scrappy" Ramirez vs. David Jimenez  --   The judges get it right after 12 rounds of action. Jimenez did the better work across the fight, outworking Ramirez and handing him his first professional defeat. Official result: David Jimenez def. John "Scrappy" Ramirez via unanimous decision (117-111, 117-111, 116-112)