KING RYAN SHOCKS THE WORLD — GARCIA KNOCKS DEVIN HANEY DOWN THREE TIMES IN HISTORIC MD VICTORY
After months of enduring ridicule and scorn
from so-called experts who gave who him no shot at victory, Ryan “Kingry”
Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) shocked the world Saturday night in Brooklyn,
flooring Devin “The Dream” Haney (31-1, 15 KOs) three times en route to a
majority decision victory, capping an action-packed Golden Boy Promotions
card at the Barclay’s Center.
Garcia of Victorville, Calif. rocked Haney in the middle of the first round
with a left hook and rolled through the back of the half of the fight to
secure the decision by scores of 115-109, 114-110 and 112-112.
“I shouldn’t have put too much pressure on myself to stop him, because
every time I hurt him, I went crazy and I couldn’t stop him,” said Ryan
Garcia. “I think the ref should’ve stopped the fight. He (Haney) was really
hurt. I felt bad, I even looked at Bill to stop the fight. [Regarding the
point being deducted in seventh round] The guy was holding me for dear
life, and I felt the opportunity to keep swinging while my hands were free.
I should’ve knocked him out that seventh round. They stole that from me.
I’m surprised he has so much heart and recovery. He got wobbled bad in the
first round. I thought it was over. He even hurt me with a hook. At the end
of the day, I’m going to fight him, win or lose.”
“Ryan just shocked the world and proved once and for all that he is the
face of boxing and a pound-for-pound athlete in our sport,” said Golden Boy
Promotions Chairman Oscar De La Hoya. “Despite all of the talk from
armchair psychologists and so-called boxing pundits, Ryan clearly had a
plan and executed it.”
In a co-main event for the WBO Intercontinental Super Lightweight Title, Arnold
Barboza, Jr. (30-0, 11 KOs) defeated Sean ‘The Public Nuisance’ McComb (18-2,
5 KOs) via split decision in a back and forth 10-round fight that went the
distance. McComb fought off his back foot the whole night as Barboza Jr.
slowly tried to get in. Ultimately the fight ended in Barboza’s favor with
the judges scoring the fight 96-94 and 97-93 in Barboza’s favor and 92-98
in McComb’s favor.
“I felt good. It was a very tricky fight,” said Arnold Barboza Jr., “He was
a lefty, tall and he moved a lot. He gave me a lot of trouble, but it was a
learning experience. I’ll be back better. We’re going to talk to Oscar and
see what’s next.”
Retaining his WBA Intercontinental Super Middleweight Title, Bektemir
“Bully” Melikuziev (14-1, 10 KOs) went to war with Frenchman Pierre Dibombe
(22-1-1, 12 KOs) in a fight scheduled for 10-rounds. The nonstop action
left both fighers cut with battle scars; the corner doctor stopping the
fight due to a deep gash over Melikuziev’s eye caused by an accidental
headbutt. The judges went to the scorecards, awarding the “Bully” the
technical decision victory with scores of 79-73, 78-74 and 79-73.
“He was a good opponent. Unfortunately, the fight was stopped,” said Bektemir
Melikuziev. “During the fight he kept coming forward with his head. There
was nothing I could do. I just needed another minute or two in the ring to
finish the fight. I slowed down a bit because I felt that my opponent was
getting tired.”
David “Medallita” Jimenez (16-1, 11KOs) of Cartago, Costa Rica pulled off
an upset win against fan favorite John “Scrappy” Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) of
Los Angeles, Calif. claiming the WBA Interim Super Featherweight Title via
unanimous decision in a 12-round grudge match. Jimenez won with scores of
111-117, 112-116 and 111-117 all in his favor.
“I am very happy to become a champion again. I want to thank Golden Boy for
the opportunity,” said David Jimenez. “I am ready to plan for what’s next.
I felt great in the ring, and I felt like I was controlling the fight from
the second round. Scrappy has a good punch and is a good boxer. Like all
fighters, I want to become undisputed.”
Charles “Bad News” Conwell (19-0, 14 KOs) of Cleveland, Ohio opened the
DAZN PPV card in spectacular fashion as he stopped Nathanial Gallimore
(22-8-1, 17 KOs) of Des Plaines, Illinois in the sixth round via TKO in a
super welterweight fight originally scheduled for 10 rounds. Conwell won
the fight with a time of 0:52 of the aforementioned round.
“I feel good,” said Charles Conwell. “It was the coming back party. I
thought he was a tough-game fighter. He came with a lot of experience, but
I did what no other fighter has done. I stopped him in the sixth round. I
don’t think any other fighter has beat him as bad as I did. He was a tough
fighter and I appreciate him for taking the fight. We’re looking to get
back in the ring asap, sometime in July or August. I’m back in the gym
getting better. The ring rust is off. We’re ready for what’s next.”
On the preliminary card, Sergiy “The Technician” Derevyanchenko (15-5, 10
KOs) of Brooklyn, New York defeated Vaughn Alexander (18-11-1, 11 KOs) of
St. Louis, Missouri via unanimous decision in a 10-round Super Middleweight
bout. Derevyanchenko won with scores of 100-89 by all three judges. Darius
“DFG” Fulghum (11-0, 10 KOs) of Houston, Texas successfully defended his
WBA Continental Super Middleweight Title against Cristian Olivas (22-11, 19
KOs) of Baja California, Mexico stopping him in the fourth round via TKO in
a fight originally scheduled for eight-rounds. Fulghum won with a time of
0:50 of the aforementioned round.
Also a part of the preliminaries, Jonathan “Sugar Cane” Canas (4-0, 2 KOs)
of Houston, Texas beat Markus Bowes (2-6, 2 KOs) of Roxboro, North Carolina
via unanimous decision in a 4-round Super Lightweight bout. Canas won with
scores of 40-36 by all three judges. Amari Jones (12-0, 11 KOs) of Las
Vegas, Nevada beat Armel Mbumba-Yassa (10-2, 7 KOs) of Remscheid, Germany
via TKO in the sixth round of an 8-round Super Middleweight fight. Jones
won with a time of 0:39 in the aforementioned round. In a dazzling KO, Kevin
Newman II (16-3-1, 1 KO) of Las Vegas, Nevada stopped Eric Robles (9-4, 8
KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico via TKO in the fourth round of an 8-round
Cruiserweight fight. Newman II won with a time of 1:53 in the
aforementioned round. Opening fight night, Shamar Canal (8-0, 4 KOs) of
Albany, New York defeated Pedro Borgaro (7-2, 4 KOs) of Sonora, Mexico via
unanimous decision in a six-round super lightweight bout with scores of
60-53.
