By: Sean Crose
Few people will likely be surprised. Ryan Garcia, who is on a strange mental journey leading up to tomorrow night’s fight with Devin Haney, has lost more than 3 pounds. While Haney weighed in at 140 pounds — within the junior welterweight limit at which the fight was supposed to take place, Garcia leaned in at 143.2 pounds. This all happened after Garcia bet Haney that he would pay his opponent five hundred thousand dollars for every overweight pound he could find – an amount that Garcia apparently paid. “Ryan honors 500k per pound,” Haney posted on social media Friday afternoon.
Of course, Garcia also has his own things to say on this matter. “3 pounds is nothing,” the Californian posted on social media, “stop crying.” Garcia went on to say that he feels good about his weight. “I feel great,” he said, “and I have a three-pound advantage. Gooo hahahahaa Winners do what they have to do. I’m still very sharp.” The 25-year-old boxer later defended the fact that he was overweight. He asked rhetorically: “Why do I force myself to gain weight to become weak?” “No, I came here to win that’s all.”
Suffice it to say, Garcia acted erratically during the period leading up to the fight. One minute he comes across a devout Christian, the next a vulgar party boy, the next a passionate conspiracy theorist. People have been openly questioning Garcia’s emotional state 24-1. With that said, the Haney-Garcia fight is still on as both fighter factions appear to have reached an agreement. Some people feel that, at this point, the war must not be allowed to end. However, it looks like the answer to whether Garcia is equipped for battle in the ring or not will be revealed on Saturday night.
Suffice it to say, Garcia actually appeared for official weigh-ins late Friday. Everything happened at breakneck speed – but eventually both he and Haney stepped on the scale. Garcia sucked down what appeared to be beer during the weigh-in. Again, he weighed 143.2 pounds. And once again, Haney reached his professional weight of 140 pounds. A brawl broke out between the teams before reaching a stalemate. Each man then charged at the other as the warriors finally stood face to face.
Garcia later became vulgar when interviewed by Ariel Helwani.
