Their fight changed when news broke that Ryan King and Rai Garcia had lost 3.2 pounds. The bad news for Garcia was that the WBC belt was no longer at stake, but the showdown was nevertheless still held on Saturday.
Garcia defeated Haney by majority decision, 112-112, 114-110, and 115-109.
The Mexican-American’s career quickly took off with Golden Boy Promotions, where he became even more famous when he won the WBC Silver Lightweight Title and the WBC Interim Lightweight Title. Now he is one of the young faces of boxing.
The WBC super lightweight title was on the line against Haney, but he missed the chance. He previously faced a tough test against Gervonta Davis (29-0, 27 KOs), but was knocked out in the seventh round with a hook to the liver a year ago, stripping him of his undefeated record. He then returned to his winning ways by defeating Oscar Duarte (26-2-1, 21 KOs) with an eighth-round KO.
Name: Ryan Garcia. Nickname: King Rai. Born: Alamitos, California (USA). Age: 25 years old. Record: 25 wins, 1 loss, 0 draws. Height: 5 feet 8.5 inches. Number of KOs: 20.
Ryan Garcia’s social media controversy
Garcia has been involved in quite a few controversies. In 2021, he admitted to suffering from depression that led to alcohol abuse, and injuries kept him out of the ring for more than a year, as he had to undergo surgery for a fracture in his right wrist.
One of his biggest and most recent controversies on social media concerned his “prophecies” about the Francis Scott Key Bridge tragedy in Baltimore, where nearly a dozen people lost their lives.
As people know, I was tweeting and writing a lot back then.
My tweets were frequently deleted to prove it.
I would like to say that it is not I who knows, but God, the Holy Spirit, who is speaking through me.
If you’re like me, you sometimes forget what you said… https://t.co/Hrhu5GZGG3
— Ryan Garcia (@RyanGarcia) March 27, 2024
X said the video included a digitally altered tweet about what Ryan Garcia wrote: “Something bad is going to happen in Baltimore, Maryland on March 26, 2024.” He announced that he had posted it. Lo and behold, Dali walked into the Francis Scott Key Bridge and destroyed it. ”
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After this, his followers began to worry about his mental health. Although some denied that he had predicted the events in Baltimore, others supported him and described him as a kind of “messenger of God.”
It was reported that Garcia lost more than $600,000 in purse money, on top of $1.5 million in side bets, because he missed weight for the fight with Haney. He then revealed on social media that he wasn’t too concerned about missing the scale, causing controversy among boxing fans. Despite winning by majority decision, Garcia left the ring without Haney’s WBC super lightweight belt.
