Ryan Garcia has insisted his worrying behavior before beating Devin Haney was just an act – and that he “decided to give it his all and stick to the plan.”

Fans have expressed concern for Garcia due to his online tirades, serious allegations of various abuses and apparent binge drinking over the past two months. However, the 25-year-old surprised Haney, also 25, on Saturday by knocking his fellow American down three times en route to a point victory.

With this result, Garcia handed Haney his first loss as a professional, but “King Ryan” failed to win the WBC super lightweight title after missing weight by three pounds last week.

Now Garcia has explained the causes of his recent behavior, claiming that his alcohol consumption was the only real reason.

“We recorded it months ago,” Garcia said on the PBD podcast on Tuesday (April 23). “What did I say was going to happen? I said, ‘I’m going to make sure everyone thinks I’m going crazy. I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that. Watch out, it’s going to be called The Great Escape.’

“I documented everything. I planned it weeks and months in advance. Honestly, I don’t know how I came up with this idea. One day I just decided to go all out and stick to the plan I had and I wasn’t going to give in to anyone.

“I was acting sporadically, just crazy. I would do that (twitch) with my nose and then be like, ‘It’s just a tick.’ I had everything.

“But it was true that I sometimes drank a little during camp – because I like to drink.”

Garcia dropped Haney three times in Brooklyn before claiming a majority decision victory, making it 2-0 since suffering his first professional loss in April 2023 – a stoppage by a body shot from Gervonta Davis.

Garcia has since named Davis, Errol Spence Jr., Conor Benn and UFC champion Sean O’Malley as his possible next opponents.