- Israel Adesanya lost $20,000 on Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia
- Adesanya backed Haney to knock out his challenger
- But Garcia pulled off a surprise victory in Brooklyn.
Devin Haney’s surprise loss to Ryan Garcia sent shockwaves through the boxing world, with many bettors losing out after the spectacular result.
And UFC superstar Israel Adesanya will surely be reeling after losing big in Saturday night’s fight.
Adesanya publicly endorsed reigning champion Haney ahead of the mega fight in Brooklyn, showing off his betting slip to his 1.8 million Twitter followers, now known as X.
The former middleweight champion backed Haney to knock out Garcia, betting $20,000 on the outcome.
If his prediction had come true, he would have pocketed just over $40,000.
Israel Adesanya lost a big bet in the fight between Devin Haney and Ryan García
Haney was stunned by the big loser during their fight in Brooklyn
As it was, Garcia surprised Haney by winning on points, knocking down the champion numerous times on his way to victory.
However, with Garcia weighing 3.2 pounds over the 140-pound weight limit, Haney remains the champion.
A dejected Haney took to social media to share his thoughts on his surprise defeat.
“Alhamdulillah Allah is the perfect planner, he makes no mistakes…he fought like a true champion,” he said.
‘I got up off the mat and kept fighting. I’m 100% fine and would love to do it again while we both gain weight.’
“God did it,” Garcia told screaming fans after knocking down heavily favored Haney three times en route to a majority decision victory. ‘My heavenly father Jesus Christ, I give you all the glory.’
As for his strange pre-fight antics (disturbing behavior that ranged from flirting with reporters to threatening sexual violence against attendees at Friday’s weigh-in), well, that was all Garcia’s doing.
Garcia won on points after a turbulent pre-fight camp for the challenger.
‘Come on guys, did you really think I was crazy?’ Garcia asked the crowd after boxing’s biggest upset in 2024.
But if all his antics were part of some elaborate act, Garcia was still in character early Sunday morning. In his post-fight press conference, he admitted that he drank every night leading up to the fight.
“I walked through fire and I still held it down and I still beat fucking Devin Haney,” he said alongside promoter Oscar De La Hoya. ‘AND [I] He still drank every day and I beat him to it. And I smoked. What the fuck?’
Garcia’s revelation was met with applause from his entourage at the post-fight press conference, but he quickly added that he’s “not necessarily proud of it.”