Garcia stuns the fight game with statement win over Haney
Ryan Garcia didn’t appear to be in a balanced mental and physical state on heading into his fight with Devin Haney at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn this past Saturday night. His actions—casually dismissing the previously undefeated Haney as an inferior opponent, posting controversial written and video social media messages, and boasting about staying out until after midnight drinking alcohol during his training camp—led many to conclude that the 25-year-old native of Victorville, Calif., who is of Mexican descent, was self-sabotaging his chances to dethrone Haney as the WBC super lightweight world champion.
When Garcia missed the 140-pound weight limit the day before the fight by 3.2 pounds, the opportunity to take Haney’s title was contractually waived. The number on the scale also caused Garcia to pay the champ $1.5 million, honoring an agreement he made at a press conference early last week that he would hand over $500,000 for every pound he was overweight.
It seemed that Haney, also 25, who was born in San Francisco and raised in Oakland until moving to Las Vegas at age 14 to live with his father and trainer, Bill Haney, would further cement his status as one of the sport’s best with a victory over Garcia. Instead, the boxing world was stunned when Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) dropped Haney
(31-1, 15 KOs) three times in the 12-round bout on his way to a majority 115-109, 114-110, 112-112 decision.
Haney, who hadn’t been knocked down in his previous 31 fights, was repeatedly rocked by Garcia’s powerful left hook, wobbled in the first round, and got floored in the seventh. He hit the canvas again in the 10th and 11th rounds from crushing blows as Garcia pressured him around the ring.
Bill Haney offered perhaps the best explanation after the fight: “He got hit with a shot early and I don’t think that he naturally kind of recovered,” he said.
“He got wobbled bad. I’m surprised he has such [a] good heart and recovery,” Garcia said in response to a question from the Amsterdam News. “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.’”
Haney, who retained his title due to Garcia failing to make weight, reflected on the defeat with both pride and unrealized expectations. “I’m disappointed about my performance,” he said. “But I showed I’m a true champion and I can fight after being knocked down and hurt.”
He later posted on one of his social media accounts: “Alhamdulillah Allah is the perfect planner he makes no mistakes…fought like a true champion. Got up off the canvas & kept fighting. I am 100% ok & would love to do it again while we both make weight.”
Garcia is agreeable to another meeting as well. “Yes, let’s run it back,” he said before leaving the ring.
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