Ryan Garcia does it! Victorville native knocks down Haney three times in a stunning upset

Not many gave the kid from Victorville, who grew up training inside oil-stained garages, a chance against Devin Haney.

Erratic antics and social media posts led to Ryan Garcia being a massive underdog in a must-win fight.

After ring announcer Joe A. Martinez, a former sports editor for the Desert Dispatch, announced the Victorville boxer as the winner on Saturday night, Garcia hugged his brother, Sean and celebrated with the rest of those in his circle.

Sporting a diamond crown, Garcia, nicknamed King Ry, looked every bit of royalty as he lifted his arms in victory after being doubted by so many.

“This is why people need to stop believing in everything they see on the Internet, and living in a false reality. There's a lot of (stuff) going on. The last thing you should worry about is a kid acting crazy on the Internet,” Garcia said after pulling off the upset via majority-decision.

Two judges scored in Garcia’s favor at 114-110 and 115-109, while the third scored it a 112-112 draw. The DAZN broadcast also unofficially scored the bout a draw.

“Real (stuff) is going on in the world,” Garcia continued. “Open your eyes. Kids being hurt. Nobody caring. ... I put my reputation on the line, had everyone thinking I was crazy. But at the end of the day, who's the crazy one now? I didn't really want to say this, but it's the truth."

Garcia’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, could be seen during the fight and afterwards, grinning from ear to ear.

De La Hoya praised his young fighter for overcoming the odds and beating Haney, who was regarded as one of the best pure boxers in the sport.

“Ryan just shocked the world and proved once and for all that he is the face of boxing and a pound-for-pound athlete in our sport,” De La Hoya said. “Despite all of the talk from armchair psychologists and so-called boxing pundits, Ryan clearly had a plan and executed it.”

‘I thought it was over’

Garcia entered the ring at the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, to showers of boos. Midway through the fight, those boos turned into chants of “Ryan, Ryan, Ryan.”

The Victorville native jumped out the gate swinging as he connected with a sharp left hook that briefly stumbled Haney.

After composing himself, Haney quickly recovered and seemed to take control of the fight, including landing a thudding right hand that shook up Garcia.

“I'm surprised he has such good heart and recovered,” Garcia said during the post-fight press conference. “Bro, I cracked him in that first round. I thought it was over. And then he came out firing in the second, and he even hurt me with a hook.”

Then Garcia’s power took over in a wild seventh round.

Garcia decked Haney, dropping the champion for the first time in his career.

But shortly after, referee Harvey Dock deducted a point from Garcia, without warning, for hitting Haney during a break.

“The guy was holding me for dear life and I felt the opportunity to keep swinging while my hands were free,” Garcia said. “I cracked him, and then he took a point away from me. ... I should have knocked him out in that seventh round. They stole that from me. That was crazy. I've never seen anything like that.”

Haney again hit the canvas in the 10th round after Garcia connected another thudding right hand. But Haney again regained his footing and beat Dock’s count.

In the 11th round, Garcia continued to apply the pressure and knocked Haney down for a third time. After Haney got up, Garcia continued his attack. At one point in the round, Garcia even looked at Haney’s father, almost pleading to stop the fight.

“He was really hurt. I felt bad. I even looked at Bill and said "hey bro, you should probably stop this,” Garcia said.

After surviving the 12th round, Haney and Garcia shared a cordial moment after a build up to the fight that got vile between the boxers that have history dating back to being children climbing through the amateur ranks.

What’s next

The bout was scheduled to take place at the 140-pound limit for Haney’s WBC junior welterweight title.

But Garcia lost the opportunity to capture the title after failing to make weight. Garcia weighed 143.2 pounds, while Haney was under the limit.

The day prior, at the fight’s press conference, Haney asked Garcia to pay him $500,000 for each pound he weighed in at above limit. Shortly after the weigh-in, Haney wrote on X that Gracia paid up his debt of $1.5 million.

As for the world title, it’s now vacant with Haney’s loss.

Haney left the arena without addressing the media during the press conference. Shortly after Haney entered a SUV, Haney’s father told members of the media that he would like a rematch in the future.

It’s unknown where Garcia’s journey takes him from here. It’s unlikely that rematch to avenge his loss to Gervonta “Tank” Davis could be in the cards. But it's a question asked by several reporters during the press conference.

Davis is scheduled to fight Frank Martin, who is also trained by Gracia’s trainer Derrick James, on June 15.

“I don't think Tank is going to beat Frank Martin,” Garcia said. “But if he did, he wouldn't fight me because I'm moving up. I'm not doing 140 (pounds). I'm going to 147. I can't make 140. My body literally can't go lower than 143. It's impossible. I tried every technique. I can't do it.”

De La Hoya stepped in and grabbed the microphone and questioned why Davis’ name was even being mentioned.

"The only way he's going to fight Tank Davis is at a catchweight of 145, 44. Just the way they did it to him. Now he's the man. Now he's the face of boxing. ... Come on. How can we talk about Tank?” De La Hoya said. “Ryan is going to rest. He had a great win. Let him enjoy it. And guess what? Ryan is calling all the shots now.”