OK, time to eat crow. Like most everyone else, I picked Devin Haney to defeat Ryan Garcia this past weekend at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, New York. In fact, I didn't really give Garcia much of a shot. It wasn't so much his antics in the lead-up to this fight, but really the fact that in my view Haney was the much more technically sound boxer.
And for stretches of this bout Haney proved me right.
That is until he got clipped by Garcia's patented check left hook, which isn't just fast, but powerful. This was the proverbial eraser. You can make an argument that Haney won his share of rounds, but not nearly enough to overcome trips to the canvas in rounds seven, 10 and 11. At the end of the night, Garcia would win a well-deserved 12 round majority decision (112-112, 114-110 and 115-109).
Golden Boy Promotions
Coming into this contest that Haney would simply be too intelligent of a boxer to get struck by Garcia's preferred weapon of choice. But he got touched with it early in the first round, which visibly shook him. While he was able to survive, it was clear that Haney's chin could be punctured.
It wouldn't be the last time.
To his credit, the defending WBC junior welterweight champion (and more on that later) was able to steady himself and win most of the first half of the bout. But this much was clear, while he could outbox Garcia at times, he could be reached. That is precisely what took place in the seventh frame when Garcia sent to the canvas. And this was no flash knockdown, he was hurt. You could argue that without the aid of referee Harvey Dock, he may not have made it past this round.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPuGVHsTMn0&t=1s
While Haney gamely tried to fight through this adversity, he was on unsteady legs. From this point on he was always a split second from making another trip to the canvas. This happened a couple of more times, with a few others that were waved off by Dock. It was stunning to see him never truly make the necessary adjustments to defend against that punch. It showed that perhaps he's more athletic than he is slick. Slick boxers don't get hit over and over with the same shots.
Golden Boy Promotions
As for Garcia, well, it looks like he has his mojo back. It's been almost a full year since his loss to Gervonta 'Tank' Davis, but that defeat now seems very much in the rear view mirror. The telegenic Garcia is among the sports biggest stars and a bona fide cash cow.
His behavior before the fight could best be described as bizarre. During it, you could say he was brilliant.
For that, he must be given his due.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
-- OK, so this should be mentioned. On Saturday night the WBC 140-pound was only up for grabs for Haney, as Garcia blew off the weight limit and came in over three pounds heavy. He admitted it was a ploy to make sure, that unlike his bout with Davis last year (where he had to accept a catch-weight of 136 pounds, and a re-hydration clause) that he would be at his physical best. Haney went through the struggle of shedding the last few pounds. Garcia on the other hand, strategically decided that whatever he had to fork over to Haney, would be worth it.
Golden Boy Promotions
You can argue which boxer was more compromised with the circumstances at play: Garcia versus 'Tank, or Haney against Garcia? The bottom line is that both accepted the terms and will have to live with the results. The casual fan isn't really up to snuff on these nuances.
The reality is, that with the payday Haney was set to receive, he wasn't going to walk away from this event. And in today's game, Haney did have over 36 hours in-between the real weigh-in, and the time he stepped into the ring to replenish his body. Being weight drained isn't quite what it was in the past.
It'll be interesting to see how future bout contracts will be drawn up for Garcia's upcoming opponents when it comes to weight limits and penalties. Regardless, this was probably the best money Garcia ever spent. To him, winning this bout against his amateur rival was priceless.
Golden Boy Promotions
- The pay-per-view card on DAZN began at 8 pm, EST/5 pm, PST, and featured four undercard bouts before Haney-Garcia. Honestly, this show dragged on, and there wasn't really anything compelling on the bill.
And the main event didn't start until 12:18 am EST
I've proposed this before, but instead of jamming in three or four undercard bouts on a pay-per-view telecast, why not just give us two higher quality match-ups within that same budget? In other words, make less, more.
- And finally, Garcia and his family had some rather choice words for me, and few other pundits.
https://twitter.com/PaulMalignaggi/status/1782118268624335036
Geez, was it something I said?
