Ryan Garcia downs Devin Haney, wins by majority decision

Ryan Garcia scored a major upset over the previously unbeaten two-division champion Devin Haney following a majority decision nod over the latter on Sunday (Philippine time) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Garcia came out jabbing before landing his patented left hook that rocked Haney early. Haney then recovered and started to press the action.

Haney landed a clean right hand in round two. Meanwhile, Garcia was passive, barely throwing punches, and unable to replicate his success from the opening round. Haney made Garcia fight backward in round 4, stalking the latter with his jab and left hook.

Garcia then exploded with fast combinations in round 6 before sending Haney to the canvas with a left hook the following round. Garcia went for the kill, but the action was momentarily stopped when the referee took a point from him for punching during a break.

He took his foot off the gas pedal in round 8, allowing Haney to recover and attack.

He had another moment of explosion in round 10, sending Haney to the canvas for the second time in the fight. A clean left hook landed again in the final minute, but Haney stayed on his feet and survived the round.

Garcia was on the attack in round 11, hurting Haney again with a barrage of punches before dropping him for the third time with a left hook. Haney was on shaky legs in the twelfth and final round but Garcia boxed and moved until the final bell.

Two of the three judges saw the fight for Garcia after twelve rounds of action, improving his record to 25-1 with 20 knockouts while Haney tasted defeat for the first time as he fell to 31-1 with 15 knockouts.

Originally scheduled for a WBC world light welterweight championship, Garcia could have become a world champion for the first time. However, he missed the weight limit by 3.2 pounds, making the world title only at stake for Devin Haney.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News