Former HBO Boxing commentator Larry Merchant is fond of saying that boxing is the theater of the unexpected. When Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia met in the ring at Barclays Center on April 20, most fans saw what they least expected – a great fight.
Haney (who came into the bout with a 31-0, 15 KOs record), collected all four sanctioning body belts at 135 pounds in a campaign highlighted by victories over George Kambosos (twice) and Vasyl Lomachenko (a controversial decision). Then he moved up in weight and dominated Regis Prograis to claim the WBC 140-pound crown.
Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs, 1 KO by) has cultivated the image of a Hispanic-American heartthrob and now has eleven million followers on Instagram. He built his record against carefully selected opponents and then was matched against Gervonta Davis in a Las Vegas megafight last year. It was a good night for Ryan in that numbers released after the bout indicated that Davis-Garcia generated $22.8 million in ticket sales (the fifth largest live gate in Nevada boxing history) and a reported 1.2 million pay-per-view buys. It was a bad night in that, trailing on all three judges’ scorecards, Ryan quit after taking a body shot in round seven and later said that he’d gone into the fight with an injured rib.
In sum, Haney’s resume as a fighter was more accomplished than Garcia’s. But when Team Haney (led by promoter Eddie Hearn) sat down to negotiate with Team Garcia (aligned with Golden Boy Promotions), Devin’s side agreed to take the short end of a 55-45 financial split because of Ryan’s marketability.
Barclays Center was a questionable site for the fight. Haney and Garcia are both west coast fighters without much of a following on the east coast. Garcia has significant support in the Mexican-American community, but New York’s Hispanic community is largely Puerto Rican. Perhaps the promotion and DAZN (which had pay-per-view rights to the bout) hoped to benefit from a New York buzz. More likely, as Haney posted on X, “The reason the fight not happening in Vegas is because they don’t wanna affect Canelo [vs. Jaime Munguia on May 4] ticket sales.”
Either way, Garcia (who has been feuding publicly with Golden Boy for almost a year) voiced unhappiness with the site. In response, Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya countered, “To build a star, you have to fight in New York.”
Haney and Garcia had squared off six times in the amateurs with each man winning thrice. They’re 25 years old now with more experience and “man strength.”
Photo by Golden Boy / Cris Esqueda
Garcia has skills and fast hands with a hurting left hook. He’s bigger than Lomachenko and hits harder than Kambosos. But his heart has been called into question. And as Paulie Malignaggi noted, “Haney’s on a roll. Ryan may be regressing.”
Haney is focused on his craft and has been trained by his father for the entirety of his boxing life. Garcia is currently trained by Derrick James, who has come after Henry Garcia (Ryan’s father), Eddy Reynoso, and Joe Goossen on the coaching carousel.
And there was another factor to consider. There were times during the build-up to Haney-Garcia when Ryan seemed mentally unstable to the point where there was concern that he was having a breakdown.
Garcia has struggled with demons in the past. After his January 2, 2021 victory over Luke Campbell, he spent fifteen months away from boxing, citing psychiatric difficulties. “We’re going into a ring in front of millions of people, putting our reputations on the line and getting hit in the head,” he told Donald McRae of The Guardian. “Of course, you’re going to experience some mental health issues. This is not normal. We’re not supposed to be doing this.”
Ryan’s behavior was erratic at the February 27 kickoff press conference for Haney-Garcia in New York. Two days later in Los Angeles, it was worse. A series of bizarre social media posts followed.
As summarized by Paul Magno (because I have neither the time nor the inclination to follow all of the boxing-related lunacy that exists on social media), “Garcia, who seemed to be in a something-induced state of mind, rifled through just about every conspiracy theory over the course of a multi-day social media meltdown. After starting the week with a clearly staged kidnapping of himself, ‘King Ry’ frenzied about aliens, satanic ritual sex abuse of minors, conjuring demons, Elon Musk as the antichrist, predictions of a June 6 earthquake that will destroy Los Angeles, and talked up a vision of his own literal crucifixion at the hands of the ‘elites.’ At one point, he started speaking in tongues. It got so bad that notable nutjob Alex Jones recorded a video urging Garcia to reel it back. By the end of the week, a disheveled and seemingly worn-out Garcia vowed to pull back on the exposing of evil while he’s in camp for Haney, although he did leave the door open with a not-so-cryptic ‘Just bc I’m training don’t mean I’m done exposing.’ A TikTok live video where he doubles down on his claims and ups the ante by promising to provide proof of time travel pretty much confirms that the craziness will continue.”
Garcia also informed his followers on social media that PRIME (a sports drink backed by KSI and Logan Paul) contains cyanide and that anyone who drinks PRIME is “working for Satan.”
Garcia’s camp sought to explain his behavior by claiming that Ryan was “just trolling.” But that was a hard sell. Garcia himself has spoken of having ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) – a condition that can manifest itself in impulsive conduct without regard to consequences and a lack of sustained focus. National Institute of Mental Health literature contains a passage that could have been written after watching Ryan at the earlier-mentioned press conferences: “A person [with ADHD] may seem to move about constantly, including in situations when it is not appropriate, or excessively fidgets, taps, or talks. In adults, hyperactivity may mean extreme restlessness or talking too much.”
Photo by Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy Promotions
Garcia’s conduct might also fit into the description of bipolar disorder – a chronic mood disorder that causes intense shifts in behavior and, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is usually “manageable with medications, talk therapy, lifestyle changes, and other treatments.” Nowhere in the literature does it suggest that getting hit in the head is an effective treatment.
Brian Campbell spoke for many when he wrote, “If there was ever a sport where someone battling their demons as aggressively as Garcia has doesn’t belong when they are potentially not of the right mind, it would be boxing. From promoters and network executives to boxing fans and media, the idea that we would all sit back and move forward with business as usual as if nothing was out of the ordinary is a bridge too far even for this savagely beautiful and broken sport. There has been nothing about Garcia’s behavior over the past two weeks that suggests he should be medically cleared for the realities of what taking clean punches to the head can do for the health of a fighter’s brain and his ability to discern between what is real and what isn’t. Why is everyone acting like any of this is remotely healthy or normal?”
Tris Dixon followed suit, writing, “To watch Ryan Garcia’s behavior over the past several weeks has been to peer through the fingers with your sweaty palms facing inwards. It seems there is a cliff not too far in front of him. Garcia has taken us all on a two-week-long rollercoaster of disbelief and horror. The carnage has been unrelenting with Instagram Lives, X Spaces and any number of posts – inflammatory and defamatory – coming from a seemingly confused and muddled mind.”
And Canelo Alvarez (who shared a training camp with Garcia when Ryan was trained by Eddy Reynoso), offered, “The only thing I wish right now is that he has people to help him because he needs it – without judging him. I don’t know what’s going on with him but I hope he has someone. As his friend, I wouldn’t let him fight.”
The entity ultimately responsible for allowing, or not allowing, Garcia to fight was the New York State Athletic Commission. Taking note of that, former trainer and commentator Teddy Atlas declared, “If you’re a commission and you do not force him to see qualified psychiatric people to be evaluated, shut the commission down. Why are the taxpayers paying for that commission if they’re going to behave like this in a case like this?”
In this instance, sources say that Garcia was asked by the NYSAC to sign a HIPAA waiver allowing certain medical records to be provided to the commission and to participate in a short Zoom call to discuss his situation. But the inquiry was superficial.
Meanwhile, Oscar De La Hoya sought to put a positive spin on the situation, telling the media, “As you see, posting his boxing videos, he [Ryan] looks in great shape with his speed and his power and his conditioning. I haven’t been in his gym. I’m not a doctor. I’m his promoter. I don’t understand what’s going on. I can’t read his mind. But what I’m seeing now – what he’s showing me – is a lot of hard work, a lot of discipline.”
Photo by Golden Boy / Cris Esqueda
That said; there were concerns that Garcia might have a breakdown in the ring in the manner of Oliver McCall in his 1997 rematch against Lennox Lewis which was halted after five bizarre rounds. Golden Boy took the unusual step of announcing that Arnold Barboza would be on standby as an opponent for Haney in the event that Garcia fell out. And Elliot Worsell spoke for many when he wrote, “In the case of Ryan Garcia, it is hard to now separate the boxer from the damaged young man. The fact this boxing match is happening at all is an exercise in cynicism and a damning indictment of our times.”
Garcia’s health remained an issue during fight week. Haney has limited power. He’d knocked out fewer than half of his opponents, and his most recent eight outings had gone the distance. Still, Devin began the week as a 6-to-1 betting favorite with the odds rising to 8-to-1 as Ryan continued to appear unstable.
“I’m a little mental,” Garcia conceded at a media workout,
Bill Haney (Devin’s father) made his contribution to the dialog when he announced during a joint photo op at the Empire State Building, “I’m sending my son to go kill him. If you don’t wanna watch it, then don’t watch it. It was a suicide for him to sign up and it’s gonna be a homicide on April 20th. Like Drago said in Rocky, ‘If he dies, he dies.’”
The fighters had been scheduled to jointly throw out a ceremonial first pitch at Citi Field prior to the New York Mets home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 16. But fearing inappropriate behavior, the Mets rescinded the offer. Unfortunately, no one told Garcia before he arrived on site. On exiting the stadium, Ryan loudly proclaimed, “They kicked us out for no reason. So I’m personally going to say, ‘Fuck the Mets!’ Don’t ever go to a fucking Mets game again.” Later, he posted on X, “I will expose the Mets so bad.”
The next day, De La Hoya suggested that Garcia had gotten into Haney’s head and noted, “It gives me confidence that he got under Haney’s skin. I’ve never seen Devin like that. Man, he pushed him. He’s rattled.”
But the head that most observers were worried about was Ryan’s.
Prior to the final pre-fight press conference on Thursday, Garcia sat in a dressing room with his father and several other members of his team. Jim Lampley came in to conduct an interview for PPV.com. There were no histrionics. Ryan seemed calm, almost somber. Lampley left and the conversation turned to Elvis Presley.
“I would have done the same things Elvis did,” Ryan offered. “But I wouldn’t have wanted to get that big.”
“Big” in terms of Elvis’s gargantuan fame?
No. Big as in fat. “And the ending would have been different,” Ryan added.
“Ryan grew up with social media,” Henry Garcia said as he recounted his son’s journey. “He started making videos as a kid. He’s always liked attention. He loves social media, but when something goes wrong they crush you.”
Meanwhile, the spotlight seems to trigger Ryan. Certain things set him off. And it’s unclear whether and when he can control the trigger.
At the press conference that followed, Bill Haney handed Ryan a book – Psychology for Dummies – which Garcia angrily threw aside. Ryan twitched throughout the proceedings. At one point, he and Devin traded pleasantries about having sexual intercourse with each other’s mother. When it was Ryan’s turn to speak, he took the microphone and said, “Thank you, my Lord, Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus! Jesus is King, King of Kings. He is the King of Kings. Jesus is the one above all. How you guys doing? What do you guys want me to say? I’ve already said everything. What do you want me to do? I’ve already done it all. Now I’m just ready to kick ass. I’m going in there and fuck this man up. You don’t understand. I’m going to fuck him up. I’m on fire. I’m on fire. I’m on fire. I’m strong. I’m strong. Strong! Strong! Hah! Hah! Hah! And I’m louder than their whole team. WOOOOOOO! Bitch!”
Somewhere, boxing’s immortals were cringing. And it’s possible that Jesus would have preferred a different choice of words.
“Something is wrong with this motherfucker,” Devin Haney suggested. “This shit’s not normal.”
Reliable sources said that Garcia had been out partying during the week and drinking on one or more of those occasions. There were also concerns that Ryan would come in seriously overweight as a way of blowing up the fight. At a Wednesday media workout, he told reporters, “I’ll miss that shit if I want. It’s my event,” Then he added, “I’m kidding. Bro, I’m gonna make the weight. It’s easy.”
De La Hoya told reporters he was “absolutely certain” that Ryan would make weight. But at the Friday weigh-in, Garcia came in at 143.2 pounds – 3.2 pounds over the contract limit. Booed when he got off the scale, he shouted at the crowd, “Yeah, yeah, yeah! Suck my dick!”
Failing to make weight meant that Ryan was ineligible to claim the WBC title if he won. He also had to give Haney a hastily negotiated $600,000 from his purse for the fight to go forward. The Haney camp made a huge mistake in not insisting upon a rehydration clause.
Barclays Center hadn’t hosted a fight since Deontay Wilder’s first-round destruction of Robert Helenius on October 15, 2022. Haney-Garcia was a hard sell, in part because fans weren’t sure whether Ryan would show up and, if he did, whether he’d fight competitively. Ticket prices dropped dramatically as the fight neared. But in the end, the crowd filled in nicely.
The arena was quiet for most of the night. A sluggish undercard didn’t help. There were boos when Garcia was shown on the overhead video screen arriving at Barclays Center wearing a blue T-shirt with white letters across his chest that read “Murder on my mind.” Later, the screen revealed the oddity of Ryan having a live string quartet playing in his dressing room as he readied to fight.
Given Garcia’s abnormal behavior, a lot of people wondered whether it would be a “normal” fight. In the ring, a boxer is stripped almost naked – physically and psychologically. Ryan had seemed to be in a fantasy world of his own strange creation. And once a fight starts, things get real in a hurry.
The big “what if” was what if Ryan landed a big left hook? But the consensus was that he hadn’t given himself the best chance of landing it because he hadn’t trained properly. And the odds against Garcia winning by decision ran as high as 20-to-1.
Then the bell for round one rang. And a drab night turned into an electrifying one. The round-by-round notes that I took read as follows:
Round 1 – Garcia staggers Haney with a hook up top, has him holding on. Ryan unloading. Haney rights the ship and controls the late stages of the round.
Round 2 – Haney getting into his rhythm. Garcia missing with wild left hooks.
Round 3 – Both fighters rabbit-punching. The fight is getting sloppy.
Round 4 – Haney more active. He’s trying to make Garcia fight for three minutes of every round to test his stamina. Garcia looks like he’d rather fight for thirty seconds. He’s missing hooks, holding, and circling away.
Round 5 – Haney still the aggressor. Ryan continues circling away and holding when Devin gets in close, drawing boos from the crowd.
Round 6 – Haney not letting Garcia rest. But I’m not sure he can hurt Ryan.
Round 7 – Haney dropped by a left hook, hurt badly one minute into the round. His first time down as a pro. Haney gets extra time to recover when [referee] Harvey Dock deducts a point from Ryan for hitting on the break. Two more trips to the canvas by Devin ruled push-downs. One of them was probably another knockdown.
Photo by Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy
Round 8 – Haney regroups to win the round.
Round 9 – Garcia looks too tired to throw more than one punch at a time. Conditioning might be the difference.
Round 10 – Correction. Power might be the difference. Garcia drops Haney again with a hook. Haney badly hurt. Garcia has been holding to shorten the fight. Haney now holding to survive.
Round 11 – Another hook drops Haney again. This has turned into a thrilling fight. Devin showing heart but not much more.
Round 12 – The fight might be on the line here. Haney still coming forward. Garcia takes his foot off the gas, clowning and taunting as the round ends.
Max DeLuca scored the bout even at 112-112 (the same scorecard that I had). Robin Taylor gave the nod to Garcia by a 115-109 margin (there’s no way that Ryan won eight of twelve rounds). Eric Marlinski cast the deciding tally 114-110 in Garcia’s favor.
After the fight, Garcia’s face was largely unmarked. “My left hook is blessed by God,” he told Chris Mannix in an in-the-ring interview. “All I do is love God and try to help the children and you guys hate on me. You guys do not love the truth. I put my fucking reputation on the line for all the kids in the world, and everybody’s fucking staying quiet but me.”
At the post-fight press conference, he elaborated on his conduct, saying, “This is why people need to stop believing everything on the internet and stop living in a false reality. At the end of the day, there’s a lot of real shit going on. Real shit is going on in the world. Open your eyes. Kids being hurt; nobody caring. I didn’t really wanna say this, but it’s the truth. Everybody needs to acknowledge; y’all was tripping, not me. I was the one who was sanity. I don’t give a fuck what people say about me. I walked through the fire and still held it down and still beat Devin Haney and still drink every day and still beat him. I did everything. What happened? False reality, right? Drank every single night. What happened? I won. You guys can’t really fuck with me. I do whatever I want and still win. I’m going through a lot. I went through a divorce. A lot of shit’s been happening to me. That kinda broke me. I did what I needed to do to feel okay. So I drank every day and did whatever I wanted. Man, you don’t know half the shit that I’ve been through in my life. I’ve been through some crazy-ass; this whole fight week’s been crazy. You have no clue. It’ll come out one day. I had everybody thinking I was crazy. But at the end of the day, who’s the crazy one now?”
Then the conversation turned to what Garcia would do next in the ring.
“I’m moving up,” Ryan said. “I’m doing 147. My body can’t go lower than 143. It’s impossible. I’ve tried every technique. I can’t do it.”
“Ryan’s calling all the shots now,” De La Hoya added.
That’s true. Not having a belt doesn’t matter. Right now, Garcia is bigger than the belts. The sanctioning bodies will be lining up with belts he can fight for in exchange for the sanctioning fees that his fights can generate.
So where does all of this leave boxing? Here, let me add a personal note.
On November 2, 2019, I was in Canelo Alvarez’s dressing room in the hours before and after Canelo fought Sergey Kovalev at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Ryan Garcia was on the undercard that night, challenging Romero Duno for a minor WBC title. Ryan and Canelo were sharing a dressing room because they were both trained by Eddy Reynoso.
Garcia made short work of Duno . . . Jab, straight right, left hook. KO at 1:38 of round one . . . He returned to the dressing room and Canelo embraced him. Minutes later, Duane Ford (the WBC supervisor) came in and told Ryan that the belt he’d just won had to be returned to Duno.
“The WBC will mail you a new one next week,” Ford explained. “This one belongs to him. If you want to present it to him personally, come with me.”
Ryan left the room with Ford and returned alone minutes later.
“That was hard to see,” he told me. “In the ring, you do what you do. But just now, Duno was crying. I felt bad for him.”
Ryan’s empathy was genuine. Right now, some empathy for Ryan Garcia is in order.
Social media craves the spectacle. In today’s world, a kid who might have once acted out in school to get attention in front of twenty-five classmates can reach a much wider audience – in Ryan’s case, millions of people. But you have to keep feeding the beast. And the beast can turn at any time to devour you.
Right now, I’m hearing things like “Ryan was play-acting . . . Ryan was crazy; crazy like a fox . . . Ryan was faking all along.”
I don’t think Ryan was faking. I think Ryan was engaging in dangerous, self-destructive behavior and that his enormous fame is piled on top of an unstable foundation. He needs mentors, not enablers.
“I feel in my heart,” Ryan says, “that I am the face of boxing.”
It’s a pretty face, but it’s a troubled one. Buckle up. This is going to be a wild ride.
Thomas Hauser’s email address is [email protected]. His most recent book – MY MOTHER and Me” – is a personal memoir published by Admission Press that’s available at:
www.amazon.com/My-Mother-Me-Thomas-Hauser/dp/1955836183/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1707662513&sr=8-1
In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, he was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
