Ryan Garcia temporarily silenced the conversation about his mental health with a stunning disturbance of Devin Haney on Saturday, but many questions remain.
After displaying erratic and troubling behavior on social media during interviews and press conferences in the weeks leading up to the boxing match at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, Garcia left many people wondering if it was just a troll’s job when he entered the ring and dropped Haney three times en route to a impressive majority decision victory.
It remains to be seen how far Garcia leaned into the conversations around him, but after his victory, he stated that much of the behavior shown to the public was legitimate.
“I don’t give a fuck what people say about me,” Garcia told reporters after the fight. “I walked through fire, and I still held him, and I still beat goddamn Devin Haney, and I still drank every day, and I still beat him. I did everything.
“What happened? False reality, right? I drank every night. I went out 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 that you guys can’t really mess with me.
Garcia has a long history with Haney dating back to their amateur careers. They fought seven times in total, with Garcia now holding a 4-3 advantage. Despite the competitiveness of the series, Garcia was a significant underdog in the betting going into the fight, and this was largely due to doubts about his mental stability.
The 25-year-old admitted that 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 got divorced and a lot of shit is happening to me outside of my (boxing) life, and it kind of broke me, so I did what I felt I needed to do to feel good.
“I drank every day and did what I wanted. I’m not proud of that at all. I just pray for my children and hope they are okay. I hope I made them proud.”
