Facing public opinion for his previous reprehensible behavior, Ryan Garcia responded Saturday night with an epic performance by defeating Devin Haney, one of the world’s best pound-for-pound fighters, by decision in a chaotic fight at the Barclays Center in NY.
Ryan Garcia, who had never won a truly big fight in his career and who has made numerous disturbing statements in recent months, hurt Devin Haney in the seventh round when he sent him to the canvas for the first time after landing a left hook – his favorite blow- to the jaw.
In total, there were three official falls for Haney, who lost the WBC super lightweight world championship, which remains vacant. One judge scored the fight 112-112, but the other two correctly saw García as the winner (114-110 and 115-109) to declare the majority decision.
Haney was a big favorite to win (-900, meaning that to win 1 you had to bet 9). Few analysts believed that García (25-1), with his erratic behavior, could be ready for a fight of this magnitude. He doubted his approach, physique, and demeanor in the ring.
Devin Haney was not the same from the seventh round
Haney (31-1) survived in that seventh round in which he fell two more times after being left without legs. They were not official falls. Although he miraculously avoided the knockout after resorting to multiple hugs. Referee Harvey Dock deducted a point from Garcia for landing a blow while trying to separate them from a hug.
Haney looked very hurt for the rest of the fight. He was no longer the same man who dominated the first half of the fight with jabs and some good left hands against a rather passive García who several times in the fight turned his back against the ropes, which his rival took advantage of by hitting him legally in the fighting area. the kidneys in a rare scene.
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In round 10, Garcia dropped his opponent again, this time with a pair of straight punches near a corner. And in the next round, he dropped him again with another devastating left hook. He smelled like a knockout. But Haney proudly refused to go down permanently after months of accusations and offenses between the two camps.
In the final seconds of the fight, García danced, shook his arms, and stuck out his tongue. The volatile Californian knew what he had done. His great triumph finally arrived.
Ryan García, heavier, looked more powerful than Haney
The weight of the fighters was not announced this Saturday, but Ryan García seemed heavier and certainly showed greater power in his punches a day after missing the regulation weight by 3.2 pounds, for which he must have paid Haney $1.5 million dollars ($500,000 per pound).
The weight advantage turned out to have been the big key to this fight, something that has happened other times in high-level fights. Although it is fair to note that in this case García is considered the fighter with the most power of the two.
“God did it,” said García, 25, when asked in the ring how he managed to cause such a tremendous surprise. Then he addressed the audience and said, “Did you really think I was crazy?”
Haney said he had no regrets about agreeing to go ahead with the fight despite the weight difference on Friday: “I’m disappointed in my performance.”
Before the fight, Ryan García was warming up in his dressing room with classical music, not pre-recorded, but with a string quartet arranged next to him.
Previously, García had arrived at the arena wearing a shirt that read: “RIP Devin Haney.”
Haney and García had met six times as amateurs, with three victories each.
Both fighters spoke out in favor of a rematch after the surprise of the year tonight in Brooklyn.
