It is Rare ” Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney put differences aside to fight for what’s rightfully theirs
Boxing rivals Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney have united to demand payment for their highly anticipated fight, putting aside their differences to tackle a shared issue. Both fighters claim they have not received their earnings from Golden Boy Promotions(GBP) and DAZN, nearly two months after their clash in the ring.
Ryan Garcia, fresh off his surprising victory over Devin Haney, took to social media on June 8 to express his frustration. Despite reportedly earning $50 million for the fight, including a payout from betting on himself, Garcia says he has yet to see a dime. His tweet read: “Still no check from @GoldenBoyBoxing and @DAZN. This is unacceptable. Where’s my money?” This public call-out has stirred the boxing community, with fans and fellow athletes expressing their shock and support.
Devin Haney, who faced Garcia in the controversial fight, quickly joined the conversation. Just minutes after Garcia’s tweet, Haney confirmed that he, too, had not been paid. He retweeted Garcia’s post with a simple “Same,” signaling his own dissatisfaction with the situation. Haney has had previous disputes with GBP, criticizing their professionalism, but this public alignment with Garcia adds weight to their claims.
Haney’s confirmation validates story due to rivalry with Garcia
The alliance between Garcia and Haney is surprising, given their fierce rivalry. However, their shared frustration with GBP and DAZN has brought them together in a quest for justice. Garcia’s involvement is particularly notable, as he is one of the most prominent faces of Oscar De La Hoya’s promotion. This situation raises questions about the internal operations of these high-profile boxing promotions.
As fans eagerly await responses from GBP and DAZN, the focus has shifted from the ring to the business dealings behind the scenes. The drama surrounding unpaid dues continues to unfold, keeping the boxing world on edge.
American Ryan Garcia floored Devin Haney three times in a majority points win over his compatriot on a dramatic night in Brooklyn, New York.
Garcia’s left hook was his greatest asset as the previously unbeaten world champion Haney was floored in the seventh, 10th and 11th rounds.
Scorecards of 112-112, 114-110 and 115-109 saw the decision go to Garcia.
The Californian, however, did not win Haney’s WBC light-welterweight title after missing weight for the contest.
“You really thought I was crazy? You all lost your own minds,” said Garcia, who had been criticised for his behaviour in the build-up.
The 25-year-old had posted a series of erratic, often unsubstantiated and defamatory social media posts in recent months.
“You guys overegg everything,” Garcia added.
He extended his record to 25 wins and one defeat, while it was Haney’s first pro defeat in 32 bouts.
In his post-fight news conference, Garcia said he had been “drinking every night” in the build-up to the bout after getting divorced earlier this year.
“Not necessarily am I proud of that, but I’m just saying – I do whatever I want and still win,” he added.
A marked-up Haney, 25, said he was “disappointed” in his performance.
He added: “I [showed I] was a true champion and I could fight after being knocked down.”
On the undercard, Belfast’s Sean McComb was controversially defeated by light-welterweight Arnold Barboza Jr.
In a world-title eliminator, McComb produced a composed performance with slick footwork and better timing but lost a split decision.
September 13, 2019; New York, NY, USA; Devin Haney and Zaur Abdullaev during their bout at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing USA
Underdog Garcia steals the show in Brooklyn
The pair had shared the ring six times as amateurs, with three wins each, but it was underdog Garcia – who missed the weight by 3.2lb – who stole the show in the pro ranks at the Barclay Center.
He made a blistering start, landing a lead left hook in the first minute as Haney’s legs buckled.
‘The Dream’ recovered well and began to take control, glancing a left hook of his own in the third as American greats Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Roy Jones Jr watched on from ringside.
In a chaotic and eventful seventh, Haney – while his father and trainer Bill was being interviewed in the corner by the TV broadcaster – hit the canvas for the first time as a pro.
Haney rose to his feet, albeit on shaky legs. An overexuberant Garcia – who had a string quartet perform classical music in his dressing room earlier – was deducted a point seconds later for throwing a punch after the referee asked the boxers to break.
Garcia continued to attack as Haney, holding on, slumped to the canvas twice more later in the round but both were ruled as non-knockdowns.
Just as Haney appeared to regain control, landing solid body shots, Garcia floored the champion in the 10th with his quick hand speed. Haney was hurt again in the final 30 seconds by another Garcia hook.
The sight of Haney on the canvas was becoming all too familiar. He was open for the left hook and Garcia obliged in the 11th.
“I fell asleep on the left hook. We trained for it but I got in there and fell asleep,” said Haney, who has also been undisputed champion at lightweight.
“I gave him a shot, it’s only right he gives me a shot back. He didn’t make weight, so I’m still the champion. We can run it back.”
One of the most unusual build-ups to a major fight in recent memory delivered an even more sensational outcome on Saturday night when Ryan Garcia scored three knockdowns of Devin Haney and handed the WBC super lightweight champion the first defeat of his professional career in a dramatic upset.
Garcia, who went off as a 6-1 underdog, dropped Haney in the seventh, 10th and 11th rounds behind an explosive cocktail of speed and power to win a majority decision by scores of 115-109, 114-110 and 112-112. (The Guardian had it 113-111 to Garcia.)
Their scheduled 12-round meeting at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center had been downgraded to a non-title bout on Friday when Garcia weighed in at 143.2lbs, a yawning 3.2lbs above the division limit and a debacle that was interpreted as a sign of ill preparation and tumult within his camp. It also created a situation where Garcia could no longer take Haney’s championship, only his unblemished professional record. Against all odds that’s exactly what happened.
On paper it was the caliber of event that’s all too rare in boxing today: a matchup between two of America’s brightest young stars, both 25 years old and at the front of their athletic primes with ample top-flight experience. But it was almost entirely overshadowed by Garcia’s erratic behavior both in person and on social media, which descended into a disturbing blur of conspiracy theories and apparent cries for help.
“Come on, guys, you really thought I was crazy?” Garcia said afterward.
Garcia came out guns blazing from the opening bell, wobbling Haney with a left hook that sent the crowd into hysterics and prompted chants of “Ry-an! Ry-an!” from the upper reaches of the arena. Haney took a more aggressive tack over the next few rounds and began dutifully working behind the jab, backing the challenger up, rocking him with a right hand in the third and visibly frustrating Garcia as he ate one counter after another while pressing for openings to land his prodigious left hand.
But just when it looked as if Haney was pulling away on the scorecards, Garcia detonated a left hook early in the seventh that sent the champion to the floor for the first time in 32 professional fights. Garcia was slapped with a point deduction by referee Harvey Dock moments later for hitting on the break while trying to close the show, giving Haney precious seconds of recovery time, but the badly hurt champion appeared on rubbery legs well into the eighth.
Haney showed remarkable grit and recuperative powers but couldn’t keep out of the way of Garcia’s loaded shots. After going down beneath a heavy right in the 10th and a vicious counter left in the 11th, the bloodied champion spent most of the final session on the receiving end of Garcia’s taunts. Seldom has boxing’s reputation as the theater of the unexpected been more apt.
“I’m disappointed with my performance,” Haney said. “But I showed I’m a true champion and I can fight after being knocked down and hurt. He caught me early, caught me by surprise. We trained for (the left hook), but I got in there and I fell asleep, and he caught me with it.
“I was more surprised than hurt the first time. He jumped on me, like we knew he would, but I was just sleeping. I thought the ref let him turn his back and hold a little too much.”
Garcia landed 87 of 214 blows (40.7%) according to Compubox’s punch statistics, compared to 106 of 285 for Haney (37.2%). But the disparity in power shots made all the difference with Garcia landing more than twice as many (95) as his opponent (45).
The promotion had largely been marketed around their rivalry in the amateurs, six bouts in all with each fighter winning three. But while Garcia may be the bigger celebrity today – with upwards of 10.5m Instagram followers with 7.5m more on TikTok – there’s no question Haney came in as the more accomplished professional and the overwhelming favorite on merit.
The Bay Area native had unified all four major titles at 135lbs with a career-best win over Vasiliy Lomachenko in May, before climbing to 140lbs and becoming a two-weight champion with an impressive shutout of Regis Prograis to win the World Boxing Council’s version of the super lightweight title. (That belt was thought to be vacated with Saturday’s result, although WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said afterward that Haney would remain the organization’s champion.)
Over the same timespan Garcia’s status as boxing’s fresh-faced superstar-in-waiting had been greatly diminished. He suffered his first career defeat to Gervonta Davis last year, getting stopped in the seventh round by a crunching body shot with a seeming lack of urgency to beat the count that some critics decried as a business decision. And while he rebounded admirably with an eighth-round stoppage of Oscar Duarte in December, Garcia’s highly volatile comportment over the past few months had left onlookers terribly pessimistic about his chances against an opponent who has steadily been climbing boxing’s pound-for-pound charts.
When it became evident in Saturday’s aftermath that Garcia had fooled them all, the Orange County native didn’t shrink from taking a victory lap.
“This is why people need to stop believing everything on the internet and stop living in a false reality,” Garcia said. “At the end of the day there’s a lot of real shit going on. And the last thing you should worry about is a kid acting crazy on the internet.”
“I put my reputation on the line and had everyone thinking I was crazy. At the end of the day, who’s the crazy one now?”
Both Garcia and Haney expressed interest in a rematch, a no-brainer proposition after Saturday’s wildly entertaining scrap. But Oscar De La Hoya, who promotes Garcia, made sure to underscore the new world order.
“Ryan is going to rest,” De La Hoya said. “(He) had a great win, let him enjoy it. But guess what: he’s calling all the shots now. That’s the fact. Whether he wants to fight at [147lbs] or at a catch-weight, if anyone wants to make money they have to fight Ryan. And he’s going to call all the shots.”
It was a strange juxtaposition Saturday night before a sold-out crowd at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. On one side, Devin Haney promised to make his opponent pay for his antics throughout fight week. Across from him was 25-year-old Ryan Garcia, promising to bring death to his longtime rival while virtually everyone was questioning his mental readiness to fight.
There was no death, and Garcia, labeled “mentally fragile” by many, delivered an upset for the ages and proved the critics wrong.
Garcia put an exclamation point on his pre-fight words by delivering a masterpiece in one of the most polarizing performances in recent memory, scoring three knockdowns of Devin Haney en route to a majority decision.
The judges scored it 112-112, 114-110 and 115-109.
The WBC super lightweight title, which Haney held entering the fight, was no longer at stake as Garcia was 3.2 pounds over the 140-pound limit at Friday’s weigh-in. So Haney retains the belt despite the loss.
According to CompuBox, Haney was the more accurate puncher, but Garcia’s blows clearly had the most impact. Garcia landed 106 of 285 punches (37%) and Haney connected on 87 of 214 punches (41%).
Garcia had a tremendous first round, rocking Haney with a massive left hook. Haney immediately clinched to fend off Garcia’s attack. For the rest of the frame, Haney appeared slightly gunshy but kept Garcia at bay with his left jab, one of the best in boxing.
Haney, who previously held the undisputed lightweight world title, struck first in the second round, connecting with a stiff left jab that reddened Garcia’s nose. With less than a minute remaining, Haney went downstairs with the jab as Garcia looked for counter opportunities. Referee Harvey Dock warned Garcia twice for hitting Haney behind the head twice in the second.
Haney landed the first significant punch of the third round, an overhand right. As the clock approached the two-minute mark, Garcia missed with a big left hook.
With 50 seconds left in the third, Garcia dropped his right hand, and Haney made him pay with a crisp left hook that forced his longtime rival to pound his gloves in frustration.
Haney connected with a left hook with 1:47 remaining in the fourth round as Garcia attempted to use the shoulder roll. Garcia followed up with a right hand, but it didn’t have much mustard. Haney kept Garcia on the back foot for the rest of the round, connecting with jabs to the body.
The fifth round started slow until Haney connected with a pull counter right with just under two minutes on the clock. Midway through the round, Haney caught Garcia with a jab that froze him in his tracks. Haney continued dictating the action down the stretch, catching Garcia with a right cross.
The action got a little sloppy in the sixth. Garcia connected with a hard right hand and attempted to smother Haney, following up with a barrage of shots, but most of them missed. Later in the round, Haney was warned for hitting Garcia to the back, although Garcia was the one who had turned his back.
The tables turned in the seventh round when Garcia knocked Haney down with a brutal left hook. Garcia went for the kill but ended up costing himself a point when he hit Haney with a sharp right hand when Dock called for a break. An exhausted Haney went down twice more in the round, but Dock ruled them both slips.
Garcia continued to look for the knockout blow in the eighth, but Dock continuously got in between the fighters, angering the crowd, who wished to see more action. Haney tried to muster up some offense with his right hand, but they lacked the zip from before the knockdown.
Haney connected with a pair of left hooks that had Garcia against the ropes with 45 seconds to go in the ninth. However, Garcia caught Haney with a right uppercut moments later to keep him honest. Haney followed up with a barrage of rights to the body when Garcia turned his back.
Garcia dropped Haney with a massive right-left combination in the 10th round for the second knockdown. Haney beat the count, but Garcia jumped back on him again and staggered him with another left hand.
In the 11th round, Garcia measured Haney, looking to land another explosive shot. He rocked Haney again, first with the right and again with the left for a third knockdown, as chants of “Ry-an! Ry-an!” rained from the crowd.
Sweet Chin Music
Here are all 3 knockdowns @RyanGarcia delivered to @Realdevinhaney to secure the win.#HaneyGarcia pic.twitter.com/18obAwynEE
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) April 21, 2024
Garcia cruised to the finish, taunting his longtime rival, sticking his tongue out at Haney, and danced to the final bell.
The world questioned whether he was crazy, but Garcia made those who questioned his readiness seem like the crazy ones.
Barboza wins controversial decision
In the co-main event, Arnold Barboza Jr., in his second fight under the Golden Boy banner, defeated Sean McComb in a disputed victory.
McComb appeared to dominate Barboza most of the fight, but it was all for naught.
The fight was fast-paced from the offset. McComb proved tricky as the 31-year-old southpaw used his speed and elusiveness to outmaneuver Barboza.
The second round was closer as Barboza landed a pair of solid right hands. However, McComb continued to leave his chin in the air, allowing Barboza to catch him with a solid counter shot.
By the fourth round, Barboza was effectively switching stances, forcing McComb to fight his fight. At the end of the frame, Barboza had his man pinned against the ropes and connected with a slew of stiff lefts and rights.
That wasn’t the case in the second half of the fight. McComb turned things up a notch and began to outbox Barboza. In the seventh round, McComb connected with a three-punch combination, keeping Barboza at bay with his movement.
The Irishman came in with a game plan to not be a stationary target, and they executed it perfectly.
In the eighth round, it was more of the same as McComb connected with a series of punches and pivoted away from Barboza. In the waning seconds, Barboza unloaded a barrage of punches, but McComb was nowhere to be found.
In round nine, McComb continued to dictate the offense, backing up Barboza consistently with the left, living up to his name of “Nuisance.”
Barboza had no answer for McComb. The 10th and final round was mostly listless. As they went down the stretch, boos rained down from the crowd, but McComb could care less as this was clearly his night.
