Ryan Garcia secured a stunning upset over Devin Haney, knocking his fellow American down three times en route to a majority decision victory at the Barclays Center.
Garcia had missed the 10st light-welterweight limit by 3.2lbs so was not eligible to win the WBC title, while his recent erratic tweets and behaviour in fight week led many to question whether the contest should go ahead.
But Garcia floored his rival in the seventh, 10th and 11th rounds, enough to earn the nod from two judges by scores of 115-109 and 114-110 while a third saw it 112-112 in Brooklyn.
Garcia, who had a point deducted in the seventh for punching on the break, has now won 25 of his 26 bouts and two in a row since his only professional defeat to Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis 12 months ago.
Haney, the former undisputed world lightweight champion who won a 140lb title with a dominant points win over Regis Prograis in December, slipped to his first defeat in 32 fights.
“Come on, guys, you really thought I was crazy? You all lost your own minds,” Garcia said in his post-fight interview. “You guys overegg everything.”
