- Ryan Garcia scored an impressive victory over Devin Haney in Brooklyn on Saturday
- In the lead-up to the fight, Garcia shared bizarre posts and rants on social media.
- He now claims his antics were ‘pre-recorded months’ before the fight.
Ryan Garcia has claimed his bizarre antics ahead of his fight with Devin Haney were planned for “weeks and weeks”.
On Saturday night, Garcia shocked the world when he triumphed over his long-time rival – by majority decision – after weeks of bizarre rants and rantings.
In the previous weeks, Garcia had continually made worrying posts online, including one claiming he was dead after having his “throat slit.”
Their antics continued into fight night, as the 25-year-old performed his warm-up routine with a classical music group playing in his locker room.
Now that the dust has settled after his impressive performance, Garcia has come forward to claim that his antics were actually just an act.
Ryan Garcia Claims His Bizarre Antics Before Fight With Devin Haney Were Planned
Garcia scored three takedowns on the world champion to claim a majority decision victory.
During an appearance on the PBD podcast, Garcia said: ‘We had it pre-recorded months ago.
“I said, ‘I’m about to make sure everyone thinks I’m going crazy.’ I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that.’
‘I have everything documented. I was already planning weeks and weeks and weeks behind schedule. I don’t know what made me think of the idea.
‘One day, I decided to go all out and commit to a plan I had, and I wasn’t going to give in for anyone.
‘It doesn’t matter if I went on your podcast or anyone else’s; He was acting sporadically, like a madman.’
That night, Garcia put the strange antics behind him as he dominated the fight with Haney, after knocking his opponent down three times in the fight.
Two judges scored the fight 114-110, 115-109 in their favor, while a third considered it tied 112-112.
Speaking after his victory, Garcia had said: “Come on guys, did you really think I was crazy?”
“I walked through fire and I still held it down and I still beat fucking Devin Haney. And (I) still drank every day and I beat him. And I smoked. What the fuck?’
Garcia had posted a disturbing video on his social media accounts claiming he was dead.
The 25-year-old then alleged he was raped in a disturbing rant 48 hours later.
For weeks, fans wondered if the fight would actually happen. Just days after his fight with Haney was announced, Garcia began posting a series of strange comments on social media that left everyone concerned for his well-being.
A disturbing video appeared on social media of Garcia claiming he was dead after having his throat ‘slit’ in early March, before the 25-year-old responded to let the public know he was still alive.
But he did little to allay fears when he later claimed he was raped by a family member as a child and said he had witnessed “human trafficking”.
He continued to share posts on his account about ‘demons’ and ‘UFOs’ before labeling X owner Elon Musk ‘the Antichrist’ and predicting earthquakes that would ‘destroy Hollywood and Las Vegas.’
Garcia thanked the Lord and then acted as if his behavior was part of an elaborate act.
He continued to attend the pre-fight press conference and agreed to pay Haney $500,000 for every pound over the weight limit.
He must have known he wasn’t going to gain 140 pounds, and subsequently went over the weight limit by a surprising 3.2 pounds, but he just didn’t care as he appeared to take a swig of beer on the scale.
Footage also emerged of Garcia appearing to smoke cannabis shortly after his victory as he reveled in upsetting the odds.
It’s not hard to see where Garcia gets his outlandish antics from, as his father was seen getting into a heated exchange with promoter Eddie Hearn after Saturday’s fight, only for the pair to quickly make up moments later.