Ryan Garcia explains how he fooled the boxing world with ‘crazy’ act before beating Devin Haney

Garcia concerned fans with his online behaviour and apparent drinking before stunning Haney last weekend

Ryan Garcia has insisted that his concerning behaviour before beating Devin Haney was simply an act – and that he ‘decided to go all in and commit to the plan’.

Fans expressed concerns for Garcia due to his online rants, grave allegations of various abuses, and apparent excessive drinking over the last two months. However, the 25-year-old went on to stun Haney, also 25, on Saturday, dropping his fellow American three times en route to a decision win.

With the result, Garcia handed Haney his first professional loss, but “King Ryan” failed to take the WBC super-lightweight title, having missed weight by three pounds last week.

Now, Garcia has explained the genesis of his recent behaviour, claiming that his drinking was the only element rooted in reality.

“We had it pre-recorded months ago,” Garcia said on the PBD Podcast on Tuesday (23 April). “What did I say was gonna happen? I said: ‘I’m about to make sure everybody thinks I’m gonna go crazy. I’ma do this, I’ma do that. Watch, it’s gonna be called the Great Escape.’

“Like, I have it all documented. I was already planning it weeks and months behind. I don’t know what made me come up with the idea, honestly. One day I just decided to just go all in and just commit to the plan that I had, and I was not gonna budge for nobody.

“I was acting like sporadic, like just crazy. I would do this [twitch] with my nose and then be like: ‘It’s just a tick.’ I had everything.

“What was real, though, is at times I did drink a little bit during camp – because I like to drink.”

Garcia dropped Haney three times in Brooklyn before claiming a majority-decision victory, as he went 2-0 since suffering his first pro loss – a body-shot stoppage by Gervonta Davis in April 2023.

Garcia has since named Davis, Errol Spence Jr, Conor Benn and UFC champion Sean O’Malley among his potential next opponents.