On Saturday night Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia met in the boxing ring. Pretty much everyone thought Garcia had no chance at even making it out of the first round with Haney after months of bizarre behavior called his mental health into question.
But everyone was dead wrong. Not only did he make it out of the first but he went all 12 rounds knocking down Haney multiple times. It was a clear and dominant win for Garcia who will not have the title due to missing weight.
"Come on guys, you really thought I was crazy? You gone and lost your own mind," Garcia said in the ring after the fight. "You guys hate on me cuz I'm pretty and sh*t."
The MMA community was tuned in for the fight, there were no UFC fights on and it was a perfect storm for fighters and fans alike.
This is the craziest fight I’ve ever seen
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) April 21, 2024
Crazy motherfucker did it. Wow
— Matt Brown (@IamTheImmortal) April 21, 2024
Ryan Garcia showed the fuck up 🫡🔥🔥
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) April 21, 2024
This man played all of us! #GarciaVsHaney
— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) April 21, 2024
Greatest troll Job ever @RyanGarcia
— Jorge Masvidal (@GamebredFighter) April 21, 2024
A lot of the tweets were about the referee who penalized Garcia a point and then deemed several of Haney's knockdowns not knockdowns after all.
This Ref must have a bet in
— Jorge Masvidal (@GamebredFighter) April 21, 2024
This ref suck dick.
— C H🖕🏽T O🇪🇨V E R A (@chitoveraUFC) April 21, 2024
It’s awful to watch what the ref does.
— Diana Belbiță (@DianaBelbita) April 21, 2024
So unfair for Garcia.
If they rob him tonight, I will never watch boxing again
#GarciaVsHaney
NOW we got some action! The point deduction was a bit mehh for me. #HaneyGarcia
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) April 21, 2024
This ref lol
— Matt Brown (@IamTheImmortal) April 21, 2024
After the fight, Haney reacted to his first career loss, "I'm disappointed with my performance but I showed I'm a true champion because I kept fighting after getting knocked down." In addition to losing his first fight, he also suffered the first knockdown of his long and illustrious career. "I was more surprised than hurt," Haney said of the knockdowns. Both fighters said they would be willing to fight each other again, especially after one judge had the fight scored as a draw.
Garcia has been underfire for controversial and questionable behavior leading up to the fight but joked about it on the microphone after the fight laughing as saying no one can take a joke.
Former UFC champion Israel Adesanya didn't comment on the fight but he did place a major wager. According to Adesanya himself, he bet $20,000 on Haney to win by knockout over Garcia. Safe to say he's not feeling so great right now.