Ryan Garcia is all set for his upcoming showdown against Devin Haney. In what has been a matchup years in the making, the two will throw down once again, this time on the big stage. Although the stakes for the fight have seemingly come down, it is still expected to be a big hit and a PPV success.
For those unaware, Ryan Garcia and his age-old foe Devin Haney will once again lock horns at the Barclays Center in New York on April 20. With the two having faced each other numerous times in the amateurs, their upcoming fight will be the tiebreaker. Initially, Haney’s WBC super lightweight title was up for grabs, however, owing to a weight miss from Garcia, it is no longer on the table.
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Thus, it is now simply a grudge match that has been more than a decade in the making. As such, belt or no belt, there will be stiff competition from either side as they look to emerge victorious and best each other on the big stage. Seeing that Ryan Garcia has already had to part with $1.5 million as part of his bet with Haney, he will be looking to make good on his promise of knocking his rival out.
What are the projected PPV buys for Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia?
Coming into the fight, the hype and anticipation were already quite substantial seeing that there is a big backstory to this rivalry. With that said, the discussion regarding PPV buys was also thrown into the mix. For the most part, some suggested that Canelo Alvarez’s now-confirmed fight against Jaime Munguía would have a role in affecting the buys for this fight.
However, seeing that we’ve had possibly one of the biggest build-ups to a fight in recent times, some would be right in having lofty ambitions in terms of the PPV buys. Recently, Oscar De La Hoya also gave his predictions for the same in an interview with Fight Hub TV:
“1.5 (million PPV buys) would be great. This is the start of maybe a trilogy. I think that’s the way it’s going to go.”
Naturally, in this day and age, some may consider that to be an unreachable target. As such, even Devin Haney is optimistic that the fight will at least garner a million PPV buys. Additionally, some of the things that have transpired in the build-up to this fight could even push it further than what Ryan Garcia’s fight against Gervonta Davis was able to generate.
Could Ryan Garcia’s antics bring in more PPV buys than the Gervonta Davis fight?
Previously, Ryan Garcia took on Gervonta Davis in what was considered one of the biggest fights in the world of combat sports. With two bonafide superstars going head to head in an epic fight, the hype for it was at an all-time high. As a result, the fight garnered 1.2 million pay-per-view buys for Showtime and generated a $22.8 million gate at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Notably, the PPV buys made it the 17th most in combat sports history, tied with UFC 194 in 2015 and the 2017 bout between Canelo Alvarez and Julio César Chávez Jr. As such, to topple such an achievement would require a lot of work and promotion. During the initial buildup, Garcia accused Devin Haney of not having enough star power. Since then, Garcia has seemingly gone off into a weird state, which has somehow worked well for the fight.
A summary of Ryan Garcia’s promotional efforts for this fight:
🔹Exposes Bohemian Grove
🔹Exposes Hollywood
🔹Goes after Diddy
🔹Unleashes on people not letting him leave his hotel.
🔹Predicts major earthquakes
🔹Provides a live chat of wars in the Middle East
🔹Becomes friends…— Boxing Kingdom (@BoxingKingdom14) April 20, 2024
With a sharp change in his demeanor and his antics in the buildup to the fight, Ryan Garcia has intentionally or unintentionally attracted a lot of eyes to the fight. That said, many have been worried about his mental health which has been a big talking point in recent weeks. Either way, the people will be tuning in to see whether Ryan has been putting on an act or has genuinely lost his marbles. As such, it could well end up outdoing the Gervonta fight.
