Ryan Garcia pulled off a huge surprise in New York on Saturday night, defeating previously undefeated Devin Haney three times, defeating him by a 12-round majority decision at Barclays Center.
Garcia's power dominated the fight
I've never seen previously undefeated Haney hurt as much as he was tonight. He had to get up from the canvas three times [four if you count the two in the seventh] and was fighting with blood pouring from his mouth from a wound to his jaw.
Haney is now 31-1, 15 KOs), but he needs to decide if he wants to fight Ryan again. Ryan said after the fight that he would give Haney a rematch, but Haney should probably take some time off to recover. If he rushes into the rematch right away, he could be knocked out by Ryan.
The pre-match predictions were proven wrong
Kingry silenced his critics tonight with his performance, which showed he is not an Instagram boxer like many fans said.
Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) hurt WBC lightweight champion Haney (31-1, 15 KOs) in the first round from a left hook.
Haney apparently never fully recovered from that blow, as he wobbled with every blow Ryan hit him with for the remainder of the fight.
The judges scored it 112-112, 114-110 and 115-109 for Garcia.
What made the match even more meaningful for Ryan was how many fans chased him away for his pre-match antics. They thought he was crazy and needed to be hospitalized.
Haney's promoter, Eddie Hearn, predicted that Ryan might jump out of the ring, stay in the locker room or quit on his stool. We heard all those dire predictions, and none of them came true.
From the first round, Ryan had the crowd eating with a display of his strength as he hurt Haney with a left hook.
Fans may have come into the contest to support champion Haney, but Ryan's power play and pressing style won over the crowd.
They had no complaints about Ryan's performance and neither did I. He made it interesting. Haney held the ball a lot, which fans did not appreciate.
Referee Harvey Dock had a bad night in the office, calling it a knockdown in the seventh round, and letting Haney get away with a huge hold.
Reflection after the battle
“I just knew then I had control. It's hard to recover from big hits,” Ryan Garcia said when asked at after the battle interview about his first knockout of Devin Haney in the seventh round.
“Maybe my conditioning wasn't the best, but I got the job done. I've been boxing all my life. I fought him six times. I know what I can do. Yeah, let's go back,” Ryan Garcia said when asked if he wanted to fight Haney again.
