In addition to his triumph over Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia gained notoriety for a high-profile wager he allegedly placed on himself prior to the bout.
Garcia is said to have wagered a substantial sum of money on his triumph and is thought to have earned a payoff of $12 million after winning the match.
Image : Los Angeles Times
The Bet Placed by Ryan Garcia
In a later post, Ryan Garcia appeared to have wagered $2 million on his own victory over Haney, which paid out a whopping $12 million.
While some supporters praised Garcia’s conviction and confidence, others ridiculed his rumored wager. Some praised his self-bet as a brilliant move, pointing out Garcia’s peculiar behavior before the bout. One fan said,
“This is literally illegal,”
Another wrote on X,
“So you’re saying boxer could bet on the opponent to win too? This sounds like it could become a big scandal one day if a boxer ended up doing that.”
Garcia’s inability to reach combat weight led to the wager. Garcia weighed in at 143.2 pounds, over the agreed-upon weight limit of 140 pounds. Garcia committed to paying Haney $500,000 for each pound that he went above the restriction as per the terms of the pre-fight agreement. With a 3.2-pound discrepancy, Garcia ultimately had to pay Haney almost $1.5 million.
Garcia overcame this setback to produce a fantastic performance on fight night, winning the fight by majority decision and scoring three knockdowns.
