RYAN GARCIA lost his world title shot to Devin Haney – without even throwing a punch.
Garcia was expected to challenge for the WBC 140-pound belt on Saturday night in New York.
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But at the closed-door weigh-in a day earlier, the controversial American LOST the weight of the championship.
He hit the scales at 143.2 pounds and didn’t get the chance to cut the extra 3.2 pounds, meaning he could no longer compete for the strap.
Haney, the undefeated two-division champion, successfully made weight, but the fight remained in doubt.
Just 24 hours earlier, at the press conference, the two made a $500,000 bet that Garcia wouldn’t make the 140-pound limit.
He even agreed to $500,000 per pound — meaning he owed Haney $1.5 million for the weigh-in debacle.
But according to Daniel Rafaelthe two camps reached financial compensation to allow the fight to proceed.
Garcia will pay a fine – much smaller than the deal they brazenly agreed to on stage and which was not contractually binding.
But this will allow the fight to continue, but Garcia lost his chance to win the title.
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Garcia spoke of X to suggest that he missed weight on PURPOSE to give him an advantage in the ring.
He posted: “I feel great and have a 3lb advantage. Let’s go hahahahaa. Winners do what they have to do, I’m still sharp.”
Garcia added separately: “Why would I force myself to gain weight so I could be weak? No, I’m here to win. That’s it.”
The 24-1 boxer marred his fight preparation in controversy with erratic behavior online and in public.
Garcia launched into a foul-mouthed tirade at the press conference at a member of the crowd, only causing more concern for his well-being.
But in a social media post the week of the fight, Garcia said he was cleared by the commission to fight after being mentally evaluated and drug tested.
Garcia and Haney came face to face for the final time at the ceremonial weigh-in before finally sharing the ring on Saturday.
And tensions rose on stage as the bitter enemies traded verbal jabs before being separated by security.
It came after Garcia was seen downing a bottle of BEER while flexing on stage after losing weight.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
