Ryan Garcia Vs. Devin Haney: Upset in Brooklyn
By Hagen Sparrow
In what was one of the best boxing matches in recent history, Ryan Garcia took the World Boxing Council (WBC) super lightweight champion, Devin Haney, to a 12-round majority decision at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The official scores, 115-109, 114-10 and 112-112, leaned heavily in Garcia’s favor.
This match lived up to the pre-fight hype and did not disappoint one bit. Garcia improves his record to an impressive 25-1 with 20 knockouts. He came out and established his quick, powerful left hook early in the first round. Garcia got the job done when he stepped on the gas in the seventh, tenth and eleventh rounds scoring big with multiple knockdowns. This was the first time in Haney’s professional boxing career that he was knocked down.
In the post-fight interview, Garcia stated, “You guys overrate everything. You guys hate on me because I’m pretty and s**t…At the end of the day, I’ve been boxing my whole life…Maybe my conditioning wasn’t the best, but, at the end of the day, I got the job done.”
Despite the massive upset, Garcia was not able to claim Haney’s WBC super lightweight champion title due to missing the agreed 140-pound limit. His official pre-fight weight came in at 143.2 pounds which would ultimately make him ineligible to claim Haney’s title.
Garcia criticized the ref for his officiating of the match. A point was deducted from him in the seventh round for a punch he threw while Haney was holding onto him. This could’ve been costly but proved to not be a factor in the final decision.
“It was a horrible ref,” Garcia stated, “[Haney] was holding me for dear life, and I felt an opportunity to keep swinging while my hands were free and I cracked him. And then he took a point away when I cracked him, but [Haney] held me, and then I should have knocked him out in that seventh round.”
There was plenty of drama heading into the fight as some questioned whether Garcia was mentally prepared. A lot of erratic social media behavior left people wondering "What happened to Ryan Garcia?" His posts regarding conspiracy theories and other odd subjects took the forefront of the pre-fight talk rather than the fight itself. His behavior was attributed to severe drinking habits and mental health issues which led to concern. Despite all of the pre-fight drama, Garcia was still able to perform.
Heading into the fight, Haney was ranked the No. 1 boxer by ESPN at 140 pounds. He was also favored over Garcia. Even though he didn’t lose his title, this was a devastating blow that sets him back. Haney’s record is now 31-1 with 15 knockouts. He will need to prove himself again in order to claim his spot at the top of the super lightweight division.
Many questioned whether Garcia should be considered at the top of his weight class after his loss to Gervonta “Tank” Davis last year. After bouncing back and knocking out Oscar Duarte in December, he was more than ready for the opportunity to prove himself again. This big win over Haney will have many experts and fans questioning exactly where he deserves to be ranked.
Now that the fight is over and the drama has passed, could we see a rematch of what was an electrifying boxing performance?