What is the “golden boy” doing? García destroyed Haney, but he did not become champion
Igor Nekrasov April 21, 2024, 08:45 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Devin suffered the first loss of his career and was knocked down three times.
An evening of professional boxing took place in the United States. In the main event of the tournament, viewers watched a junior welterweight title fight between WBC champion Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia.
Both boxers don’t need much introduction. Devin Haney is a former undisputed lightweight champion. The American debuted professionally in 2015, setting a record and winning local titles. In 2019, Devin fought his first fight for the world champion belt against Russian Zaur Abdullaev. Haney was unstoppable that night, breaking Saur’s orbital bone and becoming the new world champion in four rounds.
After this, Devin made three successful defenses and entered the fight for the title of absolute world champion against George Kambosos. Haney won a convincing decision and became the new king of the division. In the rematch, Haney seemed even more confident and defended his titles, but in the fight against Vasily Lomachenko everything was not so clear. The Ukrainian gave the champion a close fight, but Devin once again defended his titles and moved up in weight. In his first fight in the junior welterweight division, Haney confidently faced Regis Prograis and became the new WBC champion.
Online transmission of the tournament:
Haney – Garcia: Ryan took down Devin three times and pulled off an upset!
Ryan García is one of the main stars of modern boxing. Garcia was long considered one of the best lightweight prospects, undefeated and with a solid record. In April 2023, Garcia had a high-profile fight against Gervonta Davis, in which he suffered his first loss. After that, Ryan managed to successfully return to the ring, defeating Oscar Duarte Jurado, and went on to another high-profile fight against Devin Haney. Surprisingly, at such a crucial moment, Garcia failed the weigh-in – that’s what the “golden boy” is all about. For him, the WBC belt was not at stake, but a victory could significantly boost Garcia’s ratings.
García is one of the most extraordinary boxers on the planet:
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The challenger began the fight very actively, managing to surprise the champion already in the first round. Haney remained standing, but it was clear he was having an extremely difficult time. In later rounds, Devin tried to take the initiative and work as number one, but could not adapt to the lanky Garcia’s style. Little by little, Haney took the initiative, started working with jabs, landing powerful punches and Garcia had little success.
The decisive period was the seventh round. Ryan landed a left hook and, unexpectedly to everyone, Haney was knocked down. Furthermore, the fall was extremely difficult and Devin, who continued the fight, was forced to survive. Garcia tried to end the fight here and now, but Haney reached the bell. It was difficult for the champion in the next round, but in the ninth segment, it seemed that Devin was able to recover, he started attacking like number one and threw a lot of body shots. However, in the tenth round, Haney was knocked down again and again a left hook from Garcia sent Devin to the ground. The champion recovered and continued the fight, although he had to do a lot of clinching and dry up the fight.
In the eleventh round, the champion was knocked down for the third time, Garcia jumped to the ropes and began to celebrate the victory, but this time Haney also recovered. Ryan finished the fight with confidence, dancing in the ring and allowing himself to play with the crowd. The champion seemed completely depressed; This was not the kind of performance we expected from Haney.
As a result, the fight came to a judge’s decision. It’s interesting that the judges’ notes weren’t so obvious. One judge even saw it as a draw, but the other two gave the victory to Garcia. Ryan inflicted the first loss of his career on Devin Haney and returned to the top of the division without winning the championship belt.
