Ryan Garcia suffered the first loss of his career in a surprise victory over Devin Haney on Saturday night, en route to winning the most of his three knockouts.
Garcia started the fight early, dropping Haney with a blocked left hook in the first minute of the fight, then dropping Haney with the same punch in the seventh, 10th and 11th rounds.
Haney (31-1, 15 KOs) won the second through fifth rounds on the scorecards, but Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) dominated again in the second round.
Two judges scored it 115-109 and 114-110 for Garcia, while a third scored it 112-112.
Garcia threw 106 punches, 96 of which were power strikes, while Haney threw 87 punches and only 45 were power punches. Haney’s face was swollen after the incident, and many wondered if he was seriously injured.
Devin Haney: ‘I Will Be Back, I Fought Like A True Champion’ https://t.co/HtJqud3EnL
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) April 21, 2024
Haney did not speak to the media during the postgame press conference, but he used social media to allay concerns.
– Fight like a true warrior. Get up off the canvas and keep fighting. “I’m 100% positive and want to do it again as we lose weight,” Haney said. – I won’t break anything – like when you cook, [you have to] be able to stay together. I will be back.
Haney remained the WBC super lightweight champion as Garcia gained 3.2 pounds and was not eligible to win the belt.
If a fight were to take place, the weight would have to be chosen, as Garcia insisted after the fight that he would move up to welterweight for his next fight.
Haney’s father, trainer and manager Bill, also took to social media Sunday morning to find a match.
“We turn loss into a lesson and turn it into a blessing,” Bill Haney said. – I will always say that I believe that Ryan Garcia is a good fighter. We are 3-3 against him (in the division). I think he’s a better person because he tricks you [with his pregame actions] into thinking he’s crazy. I know he’s not crazy. This is a big fight. But you know, we have to be careful. We really want a rematch.
– We need to keep our heads up, keep our heads straight. This is what Hani means.
– We have no issues. We have achieved some amazing things in this sport and we are still achieving more amazing things. We will continue to work hard. There’s nothing wrong with wounded pride if you get big. And we agreed.
-He is also heavy. He has a great game plan in and out of the ring. You can’t take it from him.
– Thank you for a successful evening. This is good for boxing.
