Ryan Garcia came up with one last bit of weirdness.
The 140-pound contender, who was scheduled to face Devin Haney on Saturday’s pay-per-view at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, lost his bid for Haney’s WBC title when he exceeded the division limit by 3.2 pounds on Friday morning.
Then, at the afternoon’s (unofficial) public weigh-in, he showed off his professionalism by taking off his shirt and downing what appeared to be beer on stage.
He later said on social media that he drinks apple juice combined with sparkling water, not beer, followed by “HEHE.”
100 percent worthy pic.twitter.com/fo9oWxOf6F
— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) April 19, 2024
The fighters then faced off in one final staredown, which was intense but relatively peaceful.
Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) has acted erratically in the run-up to the biggest fight of his career, including a series of bizarre and crude comments at his final press conference on Thursday .
He made a bet with Haney at the press conference that any fighter who was overweight would have to pay the remaining $500,000 per pound, meaning Garcia owed Haney $1.5 million. And he agreed to pay, which apparently allowed the war to continue as scheduled.
Some expressed concern for Garcia’s health during the fight because of his mental state and Haney’s ability to bid.
Haney won his title by knocking out Regis Prograis in his most recent bout in December.
The Haney-Garcia Battle is available on DAZN PPV.
