Boxing remains one of the most unpredictable sports in the world, and fans and pundits alike were left looking foolish once more this weekend when Ryan Garcia pulled off a stunning upset win over Devin Haney in New York.

Garcia’s talent has never been in question, but few gave him a prayer of beating the ultimate professional Haney on Saturday night, and with good reason. His pre-fight preparations could be summed up in one word – chaotic.

Garcia and Haney shared three wins apiece when they fought each other in the amateurs, but since turning over to the professional ranks their careers had gone down very different paths.

Haney became undisputed lightweight champion and then moved up to win a world title at light-welterweight, barely dropping a round along the way, while Garcia lost his unbeaten record to Gervonta Davis last year and appeared to have gone off the rails in the past 12 months.

To have a chance of beating Haney, it seemed he would need to be laser-focused, but there was no indication that he was in that mindset ahead of Saturday night.

Ryan Garcia knocked down Devin Haney three times on his way to beating him on Saturday

Ahead of the upset, fans had become concerned with his social media rants in the build-up

For weeks, fans had been left wondering whether the fight would actually go ahead. Just days after his bout with Haney was announced, Garcia began to post a number of bizarre rants on social media that left everyone worried about his welfare.

A disturbing video appeared on Garcia’s social media claiming he was dead after having his ‘throat slit’ in early March, before the 25-year-old responded to let the public know that he was still very much alive.

But he did little to allay fears when he later claimed that he was raped by a family member as a child and said he had witnessed ‘human trafficking’.

He went on to share posts on his account about ‘demons’ and ‘UFOs’ before labelling X owner Elon Musk ‘the Antichrist’ and predicting earthquakes that would ‘destroy Hollywood and Las Vegas’.

This led to the New York Athletic Commission stepping in and revealing that Garcia would need to pass a ‘mental health evaluation’ before he could get in the ring to face Haney.

With the authorities threatening to pull the plug on the biggest fight of his career, Garcia may have been advised to tone things down in fight week. But if he was, he didn’t pay attention.

After divorcing his model ex-wife Andrea Celina in January, Garcia proposed to Australian porn star Savannah Bond at the start of last week – and she said yes!

Garcia proposed to Australian porn star Savannah Bond (pictured) just days before the fight

The week only turned more wild when Garcia was kicked out of the New York Mets’ stadium just moments before he was due to throw the first pitch, and he followed that by turning up to the pre-fight press conference and agreeing to pay Haney $500,000 for every pound he was over the weight limit.

He must have known that he wasn’t going to make 140lbs, and he subsequently missed the weight limit by an astonishing 3.2 pounds, but he simply didn’t care as he appeared to swig a beer on the scales.

Haney could have called the fight off at that point, but he decided to reach an agreement with Garcia for the show to go on, and who could blame him? Garcia had shown time and time again that he was in no fit state to fight. It was going to be an easy night’s work for Haney, right?

Fight night arrived and Garcia finally looked at peace in his dressing room as he went through his warm-up routine with a classical musical group playing before embracing fellow maverick Mike Tyson.

But it was all surely too late. Fights are won and lost in the gym, and Garcia looked like he hadn’t been in one for much of the previous two months.

Making his way to the ring wearing a $1m crown, Garcia looked destined to be embarrassed by Haney, but he had other ideas.

Garcia wobbled his fellow American with a left hook in the opening round, and then sent him to the canvas in the seventh, 10th and 11th on his way to a majority decision victory.

With each knockdown Garcia danced and postured for the crowd, while he goaded Haney in the closing seconds of the final round as he knew he had done enough to get his hand raised.

Ryan Garcia brags about ‘drinking and smoking every day’

It was the ultimate showman’s performance, with Garcia proving all his doubters wrong.

So, was it all an act? Garcia asked the capacity crowd inside the Barclays Center if they ‘really thought (he) was crazy?’ in the immediate aftermath of his win, but proceeded to claim in his post-fight press conference that he had been drinking and smoking every day in training camp.

Footage also emerged of Garcia appearing to smoke cannabis shortly after his victory as he revelled in upsetting the odds.

It is not hard to see where Garcia gets his outlandish antics from either, as his dad was seen getting into a heated exchange with promoter Eddie Hearn after Saturday’s fight, only for the pair to quickly make up just moments later.

Just how much of Garcia’s behaviour was for show and how much was real we may never know, but one thing is for sure: he is now one of the hottest properties in boxing.

Garcia could be set for a rematch with Gervonta Davis after losing to him last year

Conor Benn is another option after the Brit called him out on X on Sunday

Having previously been accused of just being an Instagram fighter due to his huge social media following, Garcia proved that he is much more than that by beating a pound-for-pound star.

He has shown that he is not afraid to accept the biggest challenges after taking on Davis and Haney in two of his last three fights, and now he has the world at his feet.

Rematches with Davis and Haney could be on the table, while Garcia also engaged in a war of words with Britain’s Conor Benn on X on Sunday.

Moving up another weight class to face unbeaten American Jaron Ennis is another possibility, while Garcia has also suggested he could jump up even higher to fight 154lb champion Sebastian Fundora.

Despite historically being a sport full of characters, boxing has not had someone quite as wild as Garcia since Tyson.

Every fight, press conference and weigh-in was an event with the heavyweight great, and Garcia has been just as watchable over the past two months. And he delivered in the ring.

Garcia is boxing’s wildest maverick since Mike Tyson, with fans wanting to see what he will do next

Whether Garcia can emulate Tyson’s success remains to be seen, but at 25, his journey seems to only just be getting started.

Whoever he fights next, fans will tune in, with some wanting to see him humbled while others will hope he can continue his rise.

Boxing has not had such a polarising figure since a prime Floyd Mayweather, and Garcia has got casual and hardcore fans talking about the sport again.

For now, he will bask in the glory of his biggest win. But more big fights are surely just around the corner.