Ryan Garcia may have won more than initially believed after his upset victory over Devin Haney.
Following Garcia’s win by majority decision over betting favorite Haney for the WBC junior welterweight title belt this past Saturday night, the winning boxer has appeared to confirm that he placed a $2 million wager on himself to win at +500 odds before the fight began.
Garcia’s Instagram account shared a post, which included the victorious boxer saying, “If you bet, BET ON YOURSELF. On top of what we made. EATING GOOD. About 50 million (probably more) in one night not too shabby.”
The post, if true, ushers in skepticism surrounding the ethics of Garcia being able to bet on himself to win outright ahead of his highly touted boxing match against Haney. Obviously, with Garcia’s win by decision, the 25-year-old Californian’s alleged $2 million wager on himself to win outright at +500 odds netted $10 million in profit.
This $10 million is in addition to the $30 million he earned from the purse by competing in the fight. According to his manager, Oscar De La Hoya, $30 million is the same amount that Garcia earned during his last fight against Gervonta Davis. In total, Garcia’s post claims that he hauled in close to $50 million following his win against Haney at Barclays Center on Saturday.
Garcia vs. Haney pre-fight betting odds
Garcia’s odds for his fight against Haney sat as low as +600 before shortening to +500 odds in the outright winner market.
Speculation surrounding which sportsbook Garcia chose to wager on lends widespread belief that it was placed on an unregulated sportsbook operator. Coming into Saturday’s fight, Haney was undefeated at 31-0 and had recorded 15 KOs. Conversely, Garcia entered the fight at 24-1, with 20 KOs. Garcia’s last fight resulted in a knockout loss to Davis, his first defeat.
Due to various social media posts, coming off of his first loss, and Haney entering as the undefeated and defending WBC champion, oddsmakers were bearish on Garcia’s odds to win outright.
