Ryan Garcia BEATS Devin Haney and stuns the boxing world after a dominant performance in Brooklyn that saw troubled star knock down the world champion THREE times

There was still around a minute left in round seven when a cameraman began to climb between the ropes and the DJ began to blare music around this arena. 

Inside the ring, legs were wobbling, bodies were becoming entangled, points were being scratched off scorecards and referee Harvey Dock was losing control.

Bedlam had broken out at Barclays Center. Just as many had predicted. There had been fears that after all the nonsense and all the warning signs and all the red flags, Ryan Garcia’s public meltdown would culminate in chaos on Saturday night. 

And so it proved. Garcia had threatened to bite or kill Devin Haney. Disorder or disqualification seemed as likely as a 12-round decision.

There was really only one possibility that no one seriously entertained: Garcia could actually win this fight. Not against the unbeaten, seemingly untouchable Haney. Not after the torment and mental torture that had played out on social media, on the microphone and even atop the Empire State building. Not, at least, until Garcia detonated a left hook in the first minute of the first round. That had Haney wobbling and set the tone for a night when very little made sense.

By round seven, all hell had broken loose. No one – not that cameraman, not the DJ – seemed entirely sure what was unfolding. By round 11, Haney was on the floor and Garcia was standing atop the turnbuckle.

By the final seconds of round 12, Garcia was shuffling his shoulders, shaking his knees and flashing his tongue at Haney. He had secured three knockdowns, seen a couple more waved off, and had had a point taken off by the referee.

The pro-Haney crowd had shifted their allegiance and yet uncertainty lingered. This is boxing and this was a bonkers fight when Garcia fought only in sparing, devastating flashes.

All of which made the scorecards difficult to predict. Between the chaos, there was plenty of chess, when Haney seemed in control but nothing much happened at all.

In the end, one judge couldn’t separate them but the other two had Garcia by four points and six points to Garcia. 

After a promotion which left a stain on boxing, these two put on a glorious reminder of boxing’s best. The only frustration? Garcia’s performance wasn’t rewarded with a first world title.

He surrendered his shot – and $1.5million – when he came in 3lbs overweight. How much did those extra 3lbs help? How much did they take out of Haney? Who knows.

But Garcia’s antics on the scales were among the final signs that suggested he should never have been allowed to fight on Saturday.

There had been the video that said Garcia’s throat had been slit and in the claims he was raped by a relative. The divorce from the mother of his newborn son and the marriage proposal to an Australian porn star. The conspiracy theories about Tupac, aliens and Elon Musk.

Concern only intensified in the hours before the first bell. Garcia wore a t-shirt that carried a chilling warning: ‘Murder on my mind’. He warmed up to a soundtrack of symphonies by a string quartet.

When he finally left his locker room – sweat glinting off his face – Garcia popped a crown on to his bowed head. By then, typical intrigue over how a might unfold had morphed into genuine concern about what a fighter might do.

Garcia’s loved ones, his trainer Derrick James, his promoter Oscar De La Hoya, and the New York State Athletic Commissioners - who tested the mind of this 25-year-old – all ignored pleas to pull him out.

That decision shouldn’t be forgotten just because of this performance. We always knew Garcia had brutal power. He showed with the fight’s first meaningful punch and time and again thereafter.

In between his flurries, Haney tried to gain control but to no avail. He picked up rounds and hurt Garcia without ever fully taming his opponent. He played with fire every time he hooked when Garcia hooked. And he paid the price.

It was left hook that first sent Haney to the canvas in round seven. He was badly hurt but allowed to continue. Garcia, smelling blood, threw a punch after the fighters were separated and was deducted a point. Haney went down again twice more before the end of the and but neither was counted.

In the end, it didn’t matter. Haney was surviving from them on. He went down again in round 10 and 11. He carried on, even as Garcia celebrated. But he could find no answers.