Ryan Garcia (24-1) was all set to fight Devin Haney for the WBC Super Lightweight Championship this weekend. However, that will not be the case any longer as he missed weight. The bout is going down inside the Barclays Center, New Year on April 20. The lead-up to the bout has been quite interesting as it is Garcia who has been at the forefront of all the headlines and not necessarily for the right reasons.
After his 2023 loss to Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Garcia has had only one fight where he KO’ed Oscar Duarte in the 7th round of a 12-round bout. Since then, “king Ry” has gone through lots of ups and downs, mostly downs. He came out with claims that people were out to kill him and his life was in real danger. After many people expressed their concerns for the pugilist, Garcia’s father had to clarify that his son was indeed fine.
We are just 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗢𝗨𝗧 🔥#HaneyGarcia | April 20 | Live on DAZN. Click the link in bio to buy now pic.twitter.com/JfUjVgI2u3
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) April 19, 2024
However, the concern about him did not stop there either. In an interview, Devin Haney had to question Garcia’s commitment to the fighting and wondered whether the 25-year-old was taking the contest seriously. Concern about him deepened during the pre-match press conference. While he started the event on a calm note where he thanked god, by the end, Garcia had to be stopped from using too many abusive words. And now, Garcia has also missed weight as well.
Ryan Garcia misses weight for the Devin Haney bout by 3.2lbs
Ryan Garcia shared an image before the official weigh-in. Before the weigh-in ceremony, Garcia posted an image of his face and it did not fill the fans with confidence. His face looked sucked in, which is normal during weight cuts. However, some have expressed concerns about how dehydrated Ryan looked. While some joked that Garcia looked like the cartoon character ‘Squidward’, others wondered if it would have a negative impact on fight night.
Time to weigh in pic.twitter.com/Gw3daMUfYb
— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) April 19, 2024
A bad weight cut certainly affects the fighter. If not properly hydrated after the weight cut, the fighter’s chin becomes severely compromised. On top of that, Ryan has had problems with his chin recently. Although Gervonta stopped Garcia with a body shot, Tank’s punches on the Mexican-American fighter’s chin also helped weaken his endurance. And, the worst happened when Garcia weighed in for the Haney bout.
‼️ Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia WILL still go ahead tomorrow night, despite Garcia coming in 3.2lbs overweight, as the camps have agreed a deal. Haney has said that Garcia honoured their press conference bet and will pay him $500,000 per pound overweight (a total of $1.5million).
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) April 19, 2024
He bet Devin Haney that if he did not make weight, he would pay $500,000 for each pound he weighed over the limit. While Haney made the weight limit of 140lbs, Garcia came in at 143.2lbs. Hence, as per their agreement, King Ry will have to pay $1.5 million to Devin. And, the WBC Super Lightweight champ has confirmed that Garcia is keeping his promise. Not only will Ryan be unable to win the title, he is also losing more than a million bucks even before the bell rings.
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Devin’s father Bill Haney even predicted that Ryan would not make weight during the press conference. He called Garcia a “fat boy” and played in key part in getting the bet done. However, the botched weight cut did not seem to affect Garcia who responded by saying, “Why would I force my self to make weight so I can be weak… Nah I’m here to win… That’s it.”
Former middleweight champion thinks Devin Haney will beat Ryan Garcia
There is no question that Ryan Garcia desperately needs to win this weekend. However, it will not be an easy match-up for Garcia. Devin defeated Vasyl Lomachenko and Regis Prograis in his last two fights and with a record of 31-0, he is currently undefeated. While he is not the hardest puncher, former super middleweight Carl Froch has picked Haney to win.
Why so? Froch added, “I think Devin Haney is going to be too much for him…He’s been acting very strange and trying to go on social media and drum up interest. He’s saying some mad things… His head went and he went too much over the top on social media and I hope he’s going to be ok but I think Devin Haney is going to be too much for him, I think he is a level above him.” (h/t via DAZN)
On top of the behavioral issues, Garcia has also failed to come within the weight limit. So it will be interesting to see if he can redeem himself on April 20. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
