It concluded a bizarre build-up to the fight, with fans and pundits alike concerned for Garcia’s well-being due to his erratic behaviour, both online and at press events promoting the fight. Even at the weigh-in before the fight, Garcia’s antics were unusual, missing weight by more than three pounds and downing a bottle of beer while on the scales.
But when the bell rang for the first round, it was clear that the fighters were closely matched, making a mockery of the bookmakers’ odds, with Haney starting as close to a 1/10 favourite. And when Garcia had his hand raised at the end, his team had due cause to celebrate, with his father eager to stick the boot in on Haney’s promoter Eddie Hearn backstage.
Hearn was in the midst of an interview with the Matchroom Boxing social media team when Garcia Sr walked past. He called Hearn “a piece of s***”, which was met with a reply of “F*** you!” The pair continued swearing at each other until Garcia referenced his son’s success against Matchroom fighters.
With Garcia deducted a point for hitting Haney as referee Harvey Dock tried to break them up and the latter winning the majority of the rounds without knockdowns, the margins were sure to be tight on the scorecards. Judge Max DeLuca scored it a 112-112 draw, while Eric Marlinski and Robin Taylor had Garcia winning by four and six respectively.
“I just knew I had control after that, it’s hard to recover after big shots,” Garcia said on the importance of the knockdowns. “Maybe my condition wasn’t the best but at the end of the day, I got the job done. I just know I’ve been boxing my whole life. I just want to thank my whole team, I’ve put them through hell this camp. Thank you everyone.”
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