Ryan Garcia Stuns Devin Haney in Blockbuster Clash

Ryan Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) defied expectations to claim a majority decision win in his blockbuster clash against Devin Haney (31-1, 15 KOs).

While one judge saw it 112-112, the other two had Garcia winning with scores of 115-109 and 114-110. The fight headlined a Golden Boy Promotions event at the Barclays Center in New York City, NY, presented in association with Matchroom Boxing, Haney Promotions and KingRy Promotions. Fight fans could catch the action live on DAZN as a PPV, in addition to PPV.com.

Although Haney was the reigning WBC super lightweight champion (and remains so), Garcia was not eligible to win the title on account of missing weight. While “The Dream” came in at exactly 140 lbs, his opponent was just over by roughly three pounds. Both men had faced each other in the amateurs previously, going three-for-three. With the win, Garcia settled the score in their first meeting in professional boxing.

Ryan Garcia Stuns Devin Haney in Brooklyn

Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia Fight Recap

The bout began with Garcia pressing forward, keeping Haney on the back foot. A left hook from “King Ry” soon stunned Haney, who proceeded to hold to stay standing. Despite starting aggressively, Garcia took a more patient approach towards the end of the round.

In the third, Garcia was briefly shaken by a left from Haney, who started to have success landing with his lead hand. As the rounds went on, “The Dream” was the one pressing forward and keeping Garcia against the ropes. Early in the sixth, Garcia landed a series of punches that landed clean on Haney, but once again took a more patient approach for the rest of the round as he did in the first.

Round seven proved to be chaotic. A left hook from “King Ry” sent his opponent to the canvas early. Haney went to the canvas twice more after that initial knockdown, but both were ruled slips. Garcia also had a point deducted for punching after referee Harvey Dock called a break.

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

In round 10, Haney went to the canvas again. Following the seventh, he had been able to outbox Garcia up until being knocked down, despite the Victorville native repeatedly turning his back. Once dropped, Haney struggled to go back to outboxing, a sign of things to come in the following rounds.

Garcia knocked down Haney yet again early in round 11 with a left hook. The reigning champion struggled to avoid the punches of Garcia, who grew more and more in confidence. Such was his confidence that he resorted to showboating in the final 30 seconds of the fight. In the end, two of the judges saw Garcia doing enough, giving him the majority decision.

Post-Fight Interview

Ryan Garcia

Garcia was understandably ecstatic during the post-fight interview and spoke about the power in his left hook: “My left hook is my left hook. You understand what I’m saying? That left hook is blessed by God. So, whenever I land it. It can put you out or down.”

“I just knew I had control after that. It’s hard to recover from big shots. Maybe, my conditioning wasn’t my best, but at the end of the day I got the job done,” Garcia said regarding the first knockdown.

Speaking about why he believed he was the better fighter: “I just know I’ve been boxing my whole life. I fought him six times (in the amateurs) I knew what he could do. I just wanna think my team, man…. I put them through hell in this camp. I gotta give them credit.”

When asked about a rematch, Garcia said: “Yeah. Let’s run it back.”

Devin Haney

Haney also spoke regarding his feelings after the fight: “I’m disappointed in my performance. But, I’m a true champion. I can fight after being knocked down and being hurt.”

Addressing Garcia’s power, he said: “Yeah He caught me early when i was sleeping on it. He caught me by surprise. I fell asleep on the left hook. We trained for it. I got in there and I fell asleep. And, he caught me with it.”

Speaking about his feelings after the first knockdown: “I was more surprised than hurt. The first time I wasn’t really that hurt. He went in there and he jumped on me like I knew he would. I was just sleeping.?”

Despite the loss, Haney made it clear he wants the rematch: “Of course. I thought it was a close fight still. I would love to rematch. I gave him a shot. It’s only right he give me a shot back.”

Arnold Barboza Jr. Wins Controversial Split Decision on Undercard

Just before the main event, Arnold Barboza Jr. (30-0, 11 KOs) won a split decision against Sean McComb (18-2, 5 KOs) on the PPV portion of the undercard. While one judge saw it 98-92 for the Irishman, the other two had it 97-93 and 96-94 for Barboza. Two of those scores do not reflect what played out. McComb was outboxing his opponent for large stretches of the fight and should have gotten the unanimous decision.

Bektemir Melikuziev (14-1, 10 KOs) won a technical decision against Pierre Dibombé (22-1-1, 12 KOs) in a super middleweight clash scheduled for 10 rounds. The fight was stopped shortly after the eighth round began by the ringside physician due to a cut above the left eye of Melikuziev. Scores at the time of stoppage were 79-73 (x2) and 78-74. Dibombé, who was also cut above the right eye, was ruled knocked down in round five.

David Jiménez (16-1, 11 KOs) won a unanimous decision against John “Scrappy” Ramírez (13-1, 9 KOs). Scores for the 12-round super flyweight bout were 117-111 (x2) and 116-112.

Opening the PPV portion of the card, Charles Conwell (19-0, 14 KOs) stopped Nathaniel Gallimore (22-8-1, 17 KOs) in the sixth round. The time of stoppage for this 10-round super welterweight clash was 0:52. Conwell was repeatedly landing clean punches without any response, causing referee Arthur Mercante Jr. to end the fight.

Sergiy Derevyanchenko Picks up Win on Prelims

Sergiy Derevyanchenko (15-5, 10 KOs) got a unanimous decision win over Vaughn Alexander (18-11-1, 11 KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight bout. Scores were 100-89 across the board. Alexander went to the canvas once in round eight from a body shot. This was the final fight on the prelims that aired on YouTube before the beginning of the Haney-Garcia PPV

Darius Fulghum (11-0, 10 KOs) won via technical knockout in round four against Cristian Olivas (22-11, 19 KOs). The time of stoppage for this eight-round super middleweight clash was 0:52. After a barrage of punches from Fulghum, referee Ricky Gonzalez stepped in to end things with Olivas still standing.

Jonathan Cañas (4-0, 2 KOs) won a unanimous decision against Markus Bowes (2-6, 2 KOs) in a four-round super lightweight contest. Scores were 40-36 across the board.

Amari Jones (12-0, 11 KOs) won via technical knockout in round six against Armel Mbumba-Yassa (10-2-1, 7 KOs). The time of stoppage for this eight-round super middleweight fight was 0:39. Mbumba-Yassa went down once in round six. After taking several hard shots from Jones, referee Mercante Jr. waved off the bout.

Kevin Newman II (16-3-1, 10 KOs) won via technical knockout in round four against Eric Robles (9-4, 8 KOs). The time of stoppage for this six-round cruiserweight bout was 1:53. Newman sent his opponent to the canvas twice in the fourth. After the second knockdown, referee Benjy Esteves Jr. put an end to the contest.

Opening the preliminary portion of the card, Shamar Canal (8-0, 5 KOs) won a unanimous decision against Pedro Borgaro (7-2, 4 KOs). Scores for the six-round super lightweight fight were 60-53 across the board. Borgaro went to the canvas once in round three.