Ryan Garcia insisted he “put himself through hell” to make weight for his fight on Saturday evening with Devin Haney.
At Friday afternoon’s weigh-in at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York, where on Saturday they will fight, he weighed in at 143.2lbs for a fight that was contracted at 140lbs, making him ineligible to win Haney’s WBC super-lightweight title.
Haney weighed 140lbs, and according to both fighters will be compensated with $1,500,000 – as was agreed via the bet they struck at the final press conference on Thursday afternoon.
Friday afternoon’s was a ceremonial weigh-in after they officially weighed in behind closed doors and news of Garcia being overweight spread. He, perhaps typically, posted on social media about being so deliberately, but then told a different story on stage.
“I did my best to make this weight,” he said. “I put myself through hell.”
When he was then booed by many of those present he responded: “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Suck my d**k. I’m the best fighter here. Everybody’s gonna be cheering – watch.
“I give him $1.5m but that’s nothing for me.
“I gave you your money. You better give me my f*****g money. You want that centre of the ring? Let’s f*****g do it. That’s not funny business. We got a fight tomorrow, man. Come on.”
He was then asked what he had been drinking when he walked on to the stage, and he responded: “I was drinking a nice-ass beer. That s*** was fire.
“God damn, let’s go.”
Garcia’s appearance will heighten the concerns surrounding his mental health. The 25-year-old has appeared distracted all week, and repeatedly contradicted himself, as his social media activity on Friday afternoon demonstrated again.
“Why would I force myself to make weight so I can be weak?” he posted. “Nah, I’m here to win. That’s it.
“I feel great and I got a three-pound advantage. Winners do what they have to do. I’m still sharp. Belts don’t feed your family.
“My balls got too heavy. And back gained too much muscle from carrying the promo. And my fingers got stronger from all the tweets, damn.”
The fighters’ fathers Bill Haney and Henry Garcia had to be separated as tensions rose on stage, but Devin Haney – like Ryan Garcia aged 25 – cut a consistently composed figure.
“This is all a dream come true,” he said. “I dreamed of these moments, and the moment is finally here. Now it’s my time to shine.
“He’s very unprofessional. I’m a true professional. I told him yesterday his antics will betray him, and this is the start. Tomorrow you’ll all see.”
“The wildness continues,” said Haney’s promoter Eddie Hearn. “Get ready for a wild night tomorrow night. Expect the unexpected tomorrow night. Expect drama, and expect a masterclass from Devin Haney.”
“Ryan’s ready, baby,” Oscar De La Hoya unconvincingly said. “Ryan is ready. It’s gonna be a fight. Let’s go. Let’s go, New York.
“It’s all good [that he didn’t make weight]. It’s all good. We’re all good. We have a fight tomorrow, and that’s what people wanna see. A fight.
“Take care of business, baby, tomorrow. Tomorrow night.”