Not many people were fortunate enough to predict Ryan Garcia’s upset win over WBC junior welterweight champion Devin Haney Saturday, but those who did made a nice profit on the 25-year-old’s +500 odds.
Apparently, Garcia himself was one of those people.
In an Instagram post Monday, Garcia seemed to confirm rumors that he bet $2 million on himself to win $12 million by sharing screenshots of people on X discussing the reports of his betting activity. In the caption, Garcia said “If you bet, BET ON YOURSELF.”
One screenshot in particular was a tweet that went so far as to theorize that Garcia’s troubled behavior leading up to the fight was all an act to create doubt about his abilities and bring down his odds of winning.
Garcia’s social media activity had caused people to question his mental state — he claims he drank every single night before the fight. That included the day of weigh-ins, when Garcia appeared to chug a beer on stage. That was after he missed weight by three pounds, which required him to pay Haney $1.5 million over a side bet.
Ultimately, it may have all turned out to be what other fighters called the greatest troll job ever. Garcia knocked down the heavily favored Haney three times on his way to victory at Barclays Center. If he really did win $12 million from betting, the lost money on his weigh-in was more than covered.
As for whether betting on himself is against any rules, I’m not exactly sure, though there does seem to be a precedent of boxers attempting to do so in the past. BetFTW reached out to the New York State Athletic Commission and the WBC (World Boxing Council) for clarification on their regulations and will update when that information is available.
