Ryan Garcia temporarily muted the conversation around his mental health with a stunning upset of Devin Haney on Saturday, but many questions remain.
After displaying erratic and concerning behavior over social media, during interviews and at press conferences in the weeks leading up to the boxing match at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., Garcia left many people wondering if it was just a troll job when he went into the ring and dropped Haney three times en route to a stunning majority decision victory.
To what extent Garcia leaned in to the conversations around him is still unknown, but in the aftermath of the win, he claimed that much of the behavior shown to the public was legitimate.
“I don’t give a f*ck what people say about me,” Garcia told reporters post-fight. “I walked through the fire, and still held it down and still beat f*cking Devin Haney, and still drank every day and still beat him. I did everything.
“What happened? False reality, right? I drank every single night. Went out on the first Monday and Tuesday (of fight week), and drank, drank, drank. What happened? I won. I’m not necessarily proud of it, but I’m just saying. It was a statement to say you guys can’t really f*ck with me. I can do whatever I want.”
‼️ Ryan Garcia at the post-fight press conference after beating Devin Haney: "Who's the crazy one now? I drank every single night. And what happened? I won"
[🎥 @GoldenBoyBoxing] pic.twitter.com/lj9A21Qec8
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) April 21, 2024
Garcia has a long history with Haney dating back to their amateur careers. They’ve fought seven times overall, with Garcia now holding a 4-3 edge. Despite the competitiveness of the series, Garcia was a significant betting underdog coming in to the fight, and that largely was due to doubts around his mental stability.
The 25-year-old admitted his life has been far from perfect, and perhaps the victory will serve as a turning point.
“Look, I’m going through a lot,” Garcia said. “I went through a divorce, and a lot of sh*t is happening to me outside my (boxing) life, and it lowkey kind of broke me, so I did what I felt like I needed to do to feel OK.
“I drank every day and did whatever I wanted. I’m not proud of it at all. I just pray for my kids, and hopefully, they are OK. I hope I made them proud.”
