Why Devin Haney is still WBC super-lightweight world champion and keeps his belt despite Ryan Garcia defeat
Devin Haney may have lost to Ryan Garcia on Saturday night, but he remains the WBC super-lightweight champion.
The green and gold strap was originally supposed to be on the line until Garcia ruled himself out of contention for the world title after missing weight by 3.2lbs yesterday.
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As a result, Haney retains his belt even though Garcia got his hand raised.
'King Ry' was in fine form as he dropped Haney three times en route to a majority decision win.
Haney was sent tumbling to the canvas in rounds seven, ten and eleven.
But to his credit, he weathered the storm to see the final bell.
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In the immediate aftermath, two judges scored it 114-110, 115-109 in Garcia's favour while a third had it down as a draw at 112-112.
Taking to the mic after his upset victory, Garcia said: "God did, my heavenly father Jesus Christ I give you all the glory.
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"I couldn't do it without you, I love you so much."
He then addressed the fans and media: "Come on, you really thought I was crazy? You all lost your whole mind... You guys overrate everything, you guys hate on me because I'm pretty and s*** that's f***ed up."
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Most had written Garcia off before he had even made his way to the ring due to his strange behaviour in the lead-up to fight night.
Concerns were raised about Garcia's mental well-being after a string of worrying social media posts over the last few weeks, including a video claiming he was dead.
Those fears were further reinforced when Garcia missed weight and then proceeded to down a beer on the scales at the ceremonial weigh-ins.
However, Garcia looked locked in as he recorded a career-best win over his long-time amateur rival.
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