Ryan Garcia's slew of questionable social media posts and comments left many wondering if he lacked the mental fitness to compete in a prize fight, let alone win one.
Garcia missing weight by 3.2 pounds perhaps only added to that feeling.
But "King Ry" managed to have the last laugh in truly shocking fashion. Garcia dropped Devin Haney three times en route to taking a majority decision over the WBC junior welterweight world champion at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and live on DAZN pay-per-view, on Saturday night. Judges scored it 112-112, 114-110 and 115-109 giving Garcia the spectacular upset victory. DAZN News had it 113-111 for Garcia.
Garcia wasn't eligible to claim Haney's title due to registering at 143.2 pounds on Friday — 3.2 pounds over the 140-pound limit — but the beating he put on "The Dream" was worth its weight in gold.
"King Ry" wobbling Haney with his vaunted left hook in the fight's opening round proved to be foreshadowing as he would unleash the weapon several more times toward the biggest win of his career.
With Haney ahead on the cards after six rounds behind sound boxing, Garcia dramatically turned the tide of the fight during the seventh round when he uncorked a massive left hook across the jaw followed by a short right to put "The Dream" down for the first time in the bout. Garcia could have possibly ended the fight that round, though referee Harvey Dock penalized him a point after the knockdown. The call came when Dock called for a break of a clinch and Garcia punched Haney.
Garcia's second knockdown came in the 10th round when he once again caught Haney with the left hook and used a flurry of punches after to make him taste the canvas.
A round later and Garcia unloaded a raucous left hook which crashed against the jaw to drop Haney yet again.
The back-to-back 10-8 rounds ensured that Garcia would relish in the victory as he spent the final 30 seconds of the fight taunting Haney over his first pro loss.
With the upset, Garcia improves to 25-1 with 20 KOs. After suffering through his first defeat, Haney falls to 31-1 with 15 KOs.
Garcia's win also serves as a tiebreaker in their rivalry as the two were previously knotted at 3-3 during the amateurs, before "King Ry" shattered that deadlock emphatically Saturday night.
The aftermath of the bout had Garcia even addressing some of his pre-fight antics.
Here's how the entire Garcia-Haney PPV main card went.