Ryan Garcia badly misses weight for Devin Haney bout, losing title shot and $1.5m bet | Boxing

Ryan Garcia has spectacularly did not make weight for his world tremendous light-weight championship struggle with Devin Haney, prompting a collection of last-minute negotiations between the camps to allow Saturday’s bout at Brooklyn’s Barclays Heart to be staged as a non-title bout.

Garcia weighed 143.2lbs behind closed doorways on Friday morning, an eye-popping 3.2lbs above the division restrict, forward of a ceremonial weigh-in open to the general public later within the day.

The struggle will go ahead after the edges got here to an undisclosed monetary settlement redirecting a portion of Garcia’s purse to Haney. However Garcia will not be eligible to win Haney’s WBC title; ought to Haney lose, the belt will turn into vacant.

Garcia leaned additional into the chaos on the public weigh-in, showing to chug from a beer bottle as he stepped on to the size within the Barclays Heart atrium, confirming his 143.2lbs weight. Haney tipped the scales at 140lbs on the nostril.

“I used to be consuming a pleasant ass beer, that shit was hearth,” Garcia mentioned shortly after the fighters got here collectively for a tense staredown. “I did my finest to make this weight. I put myself by way of hell.”

Mentioned Haney: “He’s very unprofessional. I instructed him yesterday his antics would betray him and that is simply the beginning.”

The debacle will do little to assuage ongoing considerations over the psychological health of Garcia, whose erratic habits in particular person and on social media has nearly totally overshadowed the promotion. Earlier Friday because the information unfold that he’d missed the burden, the 25-year-old Orange County native fired off a collection of tweets implying that he by no means meant to make the contracted restrict, an efficient confession of unsportsmanlike conduct.

“I really feel nice and I received a 3 pound benefit,” Garcia wrote. “Winners do what they must do I’m nonetheless sharp.”

Garcia’s points making the tremendous light-weight restrict first surfaced forward of his December win over Oscar Duarte, which came about at 143lbs after it was initially contracted for 140lbs.

Haney, a 25-year-old Bay Space native and two-weight champion who’s unbeaten in 31 skilled outings, has prodded Garcia all through the run-up to Saturday’s struggle, predicting that he wouldn’t be capable of make the restrict. At Thursday’s closing press convention, Haney dared Garcia to pay him $500,000 per pound if he missed the burden. Garcia, regardless of obvious protests from his father and coach seated alongside him, enthusiastically accepted the wager.

A Golden Boy Promotions assertion on Friday morning mentioned Garcia will “honor the handshake made on the closing press convention yesterday”.

“We’ve a struggle,” the assertion learn.

Haney confirmed the $1.5m windfall, tweeting: “Ryan honored the 500k per pound.”