NEW YORK — (AP) — Ryan Garcia’s behavior leading up to his bout against Devin Haney seemed so erratic that some people thought he shouldn’t be allowed to fight at all.
Think of the performance they would have missed.
Garcia knocked Haney down three times and handed the WBC super lightweight champion his first loss, winning the fight by majority decision Saturday night but not the title because he was over the weight limit.
Garcia’s odd actions in public and on social media throughout the buildup led to questions about how serious he was about this fight. It sure seemed as though he didn’t devote enough time for training when he was more than 3 pounds above the 140-pound limit on Friday.
But the speed and power in his hands was too much for Haney, who was hurt right from the opening round and went down in the seventh, 10th and 11th.
“Come on guys, you really thought …