Boxing remains one of the most unpredictable sports in the world, and fans and pundits alike were made fools of once again this weekend when Ryan Garcia scored a stunning victory over Devin Haney in New York.
Garcia’s talent has never been questioned, but few gave him a chance to beat top pro Haney on Saturday night, and rightly so. Their pre-fight preparations could be summed up in one word: chaotic.
Garcia and Haney shared three wins each when they fought each other in the amateur ranks, but since moving to the professional ranks their careers had taken very different paths.
Haney became undisputed lightweight champion and then rose to win a world title at light welterweight, barely losing a round along the way, while Garcia lost his undefeated record to Gervonta Davis last year and seemed to have gone off the rails in recent years. 12 months.
To have a chance to beat Haney, it seemed like he would need to be focused, but there was no indication he was in that mindset heading into Saturday night.
Ryan Garcia knocked down Devin Haney three times on his way to beating him on Saturday
Before the upset, fans had been concerned about his social media rants in the lead-up.
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.’
This led to the New York Athletic Commission stepping in and revealing that Garcia would need to pass a “mental health evaluation” before he could step into the ring to face Haney.
With authorities threatening to cancel the biggest fight of his career, Garcia may have been advised to tone it down during fight week. But if he was, he didn’t pay attention to it.
After divorcing his ex-model wife Andrea Celina in January, Garcia proposed to Australian porn star Savannah Bond early last week, and she said yes!
Garcia proposed to Australian porn star Savannah Bond (pictured) just days before the fight.
He published in X that Bond had said yes to his proposal, just three months after divorcing his ex-wife.
The week only got wilder when Garcia was ejected from the New York Mets’ stadium moments before throwing out the first pitch, and then went to the pre-fight press conference and agreed to pay Haney $500,000. For every pound he was 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.
Haney could have called off the fight at that point, but he decided to make a deal with Garcia to keep the show going, and who could blame him? Garcia had proven time and time again that he was in no condition to fight. It was going to be an easy night of work for Haney, right?
Fight night arrived and Garcia finally seemed at peace in his dressing room as he performed his warm-up routine with a classical music group playing before hugging fellow maverick Mike Tyson.
But it was surely already too late. Fights are won and lost in the gym, and Garcia looked like he hadn’t been in one for much of the previous two months.
Garcia, heading to the ring wearing a million-dollar crown, seemed destined to be embarrassed by Haney, but he had other ideas.
Garcia staggered his fellow American with a left hook in the first round and then sent him to the canvas in the seventh, 10th and 11th on his way to a majority decision victory.
With each knockdown, Garcia danced and posed for the crowd, as he egged Haney on in the final seconds of the final round, knowing he had done enough to raise his hand.
Garcia appeared to be smoking cannabis just hours after his win over Haney on Saturday.
It was the showman’s ultimate performance, with Garcia proving all his doubters wrong.
So was it all an act? Garcia asked the crowd inside Barclays Center if they “really thought (he) was crazy.” immediately after his victory, but he proceeded to claim in his post-fight press conference that he had been drinking and smoking every day in training camp.
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.
We may never know how much of Garcia’s behavior was for show and how much was real, but one thing is for sure: He is now one of boxing’s hottest properties.
Garcia could be ready for a rematch with Gervonta Davis after losing to him last year.
Conor Benn is another option after the Briton called him X on Sunday.
Having previously been accused of simply being an Instagram fighter due to his large social media following, Garcia proved he is much more than that by defeating a pound-for-pound star.
He’s proven he’s not afraid to take on the biggest challenges after facing Davis and Haney in two of his last three fights, and now he has the world at his feet.
Rematches with Davis and Haney could be on the table, while Garcia also engaged in a war of words with Britain’s Conor Benn at X on Sunday.
Moving up a weight class to face undefeated American Jaron Ennis is another possibility, while Garcia has also suggested he could jump even higher to fight 154lb champion Sebastian Fundora.
Despite historically being a sport full of characters, boxing hasn’t had someone as wild as Garcia since Tyson.
Every fight, press conference and weigh-in was an event with the heavyweight great, and Garcia has been just as visible over the past two months. And he delivered in the ring.
Garcia is boxing’s wildest maverick since Mike Tyson, and fans want to see what he does next
It remains to be seen if Garcia can emulate Tyson’s success, but at 25 years old, his journey appears to be just beginning.
Whoever he fights next, fans will tune in, some wanting to see him humiliated while others will hope he can continue his rise.
Boxing hasn’t had such a polarizing figure since Floyd Mayweather in his prime, and Garcia has got casual and die-hard fans talking about the sport again.
For now, he will bask in the glory of his greatest victory. But there are surely more big fights around the corner.