Inside Ryan Garcia’s two-month public meltdown ahead of Saturday’s fight with super lightweight champion Devin Haney: UFOs, divorce, demonic possession, and a marriage proposal to a porn star… but is it all an act?

Normally, boxing promotions require a series of public appearances, interviews and perhaps some corny talk before entering the ring – just enough vitriol to give fight fans a taste of what’s to come. But after Friday’s Ryan Garcia-Devin Haney weigh-in, it’s hard to say what ticket holders will face in Brooklyn on Saturday.

We do know it won’t be a title fight. Garcia (24-1) made the weigh-in three pounds over the 140-pound limit, meaning Haney’s WBC Super Lightweight crown won’t be on the line at Barclays Center. And since Garcia agreed to pay Haney $500,000 for each additional pound, he would now owe his opponent about $1.5 million — that is, provided the bet was legit and not just schtick.

But for everyone who witnessed the weigh-in, that was the least of the problems as Garcia’s two-month public meltdown moved from social media to a real-life setting. A day earlier, he started a press conference by thanking Jesus eight times and ended it with threats of sexual violence: “I’ll put my d*** in your mouth, b****!”

The two months leading up to fight week were no better. Demonic possession, UFOs and Garcia’s separation from the mother of his newborn son are just some of the topics he has touched on since early March, when he first set off alarm bells by claiming he died with a slit throat.

One minute he’s accusing an anonymous family member of sexual abuse, the next he’s flirting with a reporter, proposing to an Australian porn queen (she said yes!) or insisting that “TUPAC IS ALIVE AND WELL,” as he previously wrote on X. this week.

Even Haney, one of the world’s best boxers at a perfect 31-0, doubts Garcia’s preparation on Saturday. In response to some of the challenger’s bizarre antics during a joint GQ interview, Haney turned to the camera and admitted, “I don’t know if Ryan Garcia is taking this fight seriously or not.”

At Thursday’s press conference, where Garcia made a series of sexual comments to attendees, Haney was more direct: “There’s something wrong with this son of a bitch.”

It’s a question facing promoters Eddie Hearn and Oscar De La Hoya, the latter of whom has insisted Garcia – his fighter – be prepared for Saturday night.

Understandably, the rest of the boxing world remains unconvinced, and given Garcia’s recent exclusion from a Mets match and his homophobic comments on social media, there are calls for Saturday’s fight to be abandoned.

YouTuber and boxer KSI, for example, has called for the fight to be canceled so Garcia can “get some help.”

Meanwhile, Hearn has raised concerns about Garcia’s camp and dealings with the troubled boxer.

“I’m concerned about the people he has around him, he’s not even my responsibility, but what I’ve seen over the last few days and what clearly happened last night is erratic behavior and erratic behavior comes from somewhere,” he said. Hearn. said in early March.

Aside from Hearn’s cryptic comments, Garcia has repeatedly denied drug use, saying he “doesn’t do coke” and has “never even thought about doing drugs.” (Although he recently suggested a fight with the UFC’s Jon Jones in another social media post, suggesting both fighters be “taken out”)

But whether it’s drugs or something else entirely, alarm bells are ringing for many with Garcia, who is coming off a win over Oscar Duarte Jurado after being knocked out by Gervonta Davis a year ago.

Even his recently divorced ex-wife Andrea Celina has begged fans for their thoughts and prayers.

“If all my followers are believers, would you please pray for Ryan,” she wrote on her Instagram Story.

“We are not together and I have been in contact with him and he may seem fine but he is not,” she wrote. ‘I know in my heart that he is severely oppressed. This is not a troll, I am genuinely concerned and so are all his family members. We are not part of this and want him to get better, but this IS REAL. Praying for him.”

Henry Garcia, Ryan’s father, insisted in a social media post that his son was doing well, adding that he was simply “trolling in the wrong direction.”

But the boxer’s behavior is difficult to characterize as ‘trolling’.

Was he acting when he told his social media followers that he was dead after having his throat slit? Or when he showed up in a video on social media days later to claim his phone had been taken from him.

‘I am really being taken advantage of [of]’ he claimed at the time.

He called Tesla founder Elon Musk “the antichrist” on Musk’s own social network, X, but that was the least of his wild claims.

“THE DEMONS CAN CHANGE INTO CREATURES,” read one nonsensical message.

“I’m afraid my tweets are not well written,” he continued. “I’m under heavy attack.”

Some messages seemed sincere, such as when he hit back at critics after claiming he was abused as a child.

“It’s funny to people,” he wrote. ‘I was raped when I was two years old and I have proof and they laugh about what is wrong with people. (sic)’

But Garcia has since followed this serious post with childish, homophobic accusations against Kanye West and others. He has repeatedly shouted ‘f*** you’ at online critics and even threatened to follow in Mike Tyson’s footsteps on Saturday.

“I might bite Haney in the ear,” he wrote. “Mike bit one ear. I bite both. I’m hungry.’

Haney and a shirtless Garcia became involved in a shoving match atop the Empire State Building during a promotional stop. Garcia then took to social media to accuse Haney of a “hate crime” because he identifies “as a woman.”

But that was nothing compared to Tuesday’s Mets game, for which Haney and Garcia were scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitches.

The baseball club withdrew the arrangement at the eleventh hour, fearing that the two boxers would allow their animosity to turn into violence. Of course, another profane rant on social media followed, but at that point boxing fans began to ignore Garcia’s rant.

“Guys, the Mets just wasted three hours of our lives,” Garcia said in the video, while promoter Oscar De La Hoya walked with him. “To say at the end, ‘You can’t throw the field,’ for whatever reason. There was no reason and they kicked us out.”

“I’m personally going to say f*** the Mets,” he exclaimed. “Never go to a damn Mets game again. F*** the Mets.”

If you’re wondering where the New York State Athletic Commission stands in all of this, it’s a bit unclear. Garcia has claimed that the Commission has required a mental health evaluation – something she has the power to do, according to a manual provided to DailyMail.com.

Of course, that didn’t stop him from posting a video threatening the Commission.

“I’m actually going to sue you for defamation of character,” Garcia said in the self-recording.

But as for confirming Garcia’s claim, the NYSAC cannot do that because it is limited by privacy concerns.

And for now, the Commission’s invisible hand is the only thing that can prevent a potential catastrophe on Saturday. De La Hoya and Golden Boy have given no indication that they would withdraw their fighter from the fight, the financial consequences of which could be catastrophic in a struggling sport.

And unless Garcia pulls out, there may be nothing stopping a mentally unstable person from stepping into the ring with an undefeated champion who is among the best fighters on the planet.