Entering Saturday evening, Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) was considered a significant underdog and was largely dismissed. However, he defied expectations with a stunning display, notably leveraging his blinding, powerful left hook to secure three knockdowns. In a remarkable turn of events, Garcia emerged victorious via majority decision at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, pulling off a memorable upset.

 

In the fight, one judge scored the bout as a draw with a score of 112-112, but their decision was overridden by the majority decision of the other judges, who scored it 114-110 and 115-109 in favor of Garcia. Despite emerging victorious, Garcia was unable to claim Haney's WBC junior welterweight title due to weighing in at 143.2 pounds on Friday, exceeding the 140-pound limit for the contest. This means that Haney retains his championship status despite the defeat. Nonetheless, Garcia's win is considered a significant achievement in his career, especially as he defeated ESPN's No. 6 pound-for-pound boxer, marking a significant milestone in his boxing journey.

 

 

"I don't give a f--- what people say about me. I walked through the fire and still held it down and still beat f---ing Devin Haney and still drink every day," said Garcia, 25. "Not necessarily am I proud of that, but I'm just saying it was a statement to show you, you guys can't really f--- with me."

 

 

At the start of the week leading up to the fight, Haney was heavily favored with odds of -900, according to ESPN BET. However, as the fight approached, those odds decreased to -575. During the weigh-in on Friday, Garcia added an element of humor by pretending to drink a beer, as reported by sources. It was also disclosed that Garcia paid Haney over $600,000 as part of the arrangement to proceed with the fight.

 

 

Just a day before the fight, Garcia and Haney made a wager: for every pound Garcia weighed in above 140, he agreed to pay Haney $500,000. Haney confirmed that Garcia followed through on the bet, indicating that Garcia paid him a total sum of $1.5 million.

 

In the initial moments of the fight, an impactful event occurred that hinted at the events that unfolded later. It was Garcia who delivered a forceful left hook that significantly affected the champion, Haney, signaling the intensity and competitiveness of the match right from the start.

 

After quickly recovering from the early setback, Haney (31-1, 15 KOs) proceeded to showcase his superior boxing skills, outmaneuvering Garcia in the subsequent four rounds. In Round 3, he even managed to stagger Garcia with a powerful right hand, while Garcia maintained a defensive stance and sought opportunities to land another decisive counter left hook.

 

 

In Round 7, Garcia finally seized an opportunity as he sent Haney to the canvas for the first time in 32 professional fights. However, despite this significant achievement, Garcia failed to capitalize on the momentum. Shortly after the knockdown, amidst the crowd's uproar, Garcia landed a right hand on Haney during a break in the action, resulting in referee Harvey Dock deducting one point from Garcia's score.

 

 

"It was a horrible ref," Garcia expressed, "He was holding me for dear life, and I felt an opportunity to keep swinging while my hands were free and I cracked him. And then he took a point away when I cracked him, but he held me and then I should have knocked him out in that seventh round."

"They stole that from me. ... And Devin was holding and holding and holding. ... That was ridiculous. That was crazy. I never seen some s--- like that."