Ryan Garcia upsets Devin Haney after scoring 3 knockdowns in majority decision win

NEW YORK (KRON) — Major upset in New York City! Ryan Garcia beats Devin Haney via majority decision on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) knocked down the defending WBC super lightweight champion three times in the fight: once in the seventh, tenth and eleventh round. The judges scored the bout 112-112, 115-109 and 114-110 — the last two in favor of Garcia.

Haney, the Bay Area native who was making the first defense of his title, suffered the first defeat of his career (31-1, 15 KOs). Before Saturday, Haney had never been knocked down in 32 professional fights.

It was an action-packed fight that entertained the New York City crowd right from the start. In round 1, Garcia landed his signature left hook that buzzed Haney as the crowd then began to repeatedly chant “Ryan.”

Haney hit the canvas in the seventh round. Garcia, however, did not receive an extra point for the knockdown because of an illegal punch that prompted referee Harvey Dock to deduct a point.

Garcia dropped Haney again in the tenth and eleventh round. In each round Haney was knocked down, he spent most of the round grabbing onto Garcia and trying to survive.

At the postfight news conference, Garcia said Dock should’ve stopped the fight as he felt Haney was badly hurt after the knockdowns.

Despite the victory, Garcia did not win Haney’s WBC super lightweight title as he failed to make the 140-pound weight limit in Friday’s weigh-in. Haney won the title last December after a unanimous decision victory over Regis Prograis last December in his hometown of San Francisco.

WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman said on social media that Haney — even after the loss — keeps his belt as the sanctioning body’s super lightweight champion.

Coming into the bout, Haney was the substantial favorite at -950, according to betting odds by FanDuel roughly one hour before the fight. Garcia was a +590 underdog.

Haney elected to not speak to the media after the fight, a Golden Boy Promotions spokesperson said.