Ryan Garcia bamboozled and routed Devin Haney en route to a dominant win, Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Entering the ring as the Champ and heavy favorite, Haney, now ( 31- 1) looked befuddled right from the first round as he was rocked by successive left hooks and right crosses.
"I was more surprised than hurt", Haney said after the fight.
The much-touted left hook of Ryan Garcia was a veritable threat to Haney who gets to keep his WBC Super Lightweight strap via a statement by the sanctioning body despite being beaten ... soundly.
That decision is obviously due to Garcia missing weight ahead of the clash: 143.2 instead of 140.
Most connoisseurs and fans alike questioned Garcia's readiness for a bout of this intensity due to his pre-fight antics and health concerns.
But once the bell sounded, all the doubts diffused and a precipitation of "KingRy " chants inundated the atmosphere.
"The Dream" was clearly dazzled and seemed like one having a nightmare, but the reality of the night's beating lay before Haney: larger than life.
Forget the majority decision; the one judge who scored it 112 - 112. And referee Harvey Dock's controversial conduct.
The other judges did better: 114 - 110 and 115 - 109 hold a more veracious account.
Regardless of a point deduction in round 7, three knockdowns in the 7th, 10 and 11th rounds were enough to seal the fight, to the extent that Garcia resorted to dancing and taunting in the final round.
Post-fight, Garcia ( 25 - 1 ) hinted at moving up to 154 to challenge "The Towering Inferno" Sebastian Fundora.
Crazy as it may seem, Ryan has proven that he's got cojones to dare.
Uncle and Promoter Oscar De La Hoya reacted, "Right now Ryan is the big fish. Anyone who wants to make mega bucks needs to fight him", he said with the signature big "Golden Boy" smile.
"The Dream" though temporarily shattered, can still return better; but at this juncture, Ryan Garcia deserves all the plaudits he can get, from the boxing world and beyond.
Samuel Opoku Amoah is a writer and boxing analyst for AceTVBoxing.com. He can be reached via email: samgolden715@gmail.com.
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