ryan garcia feel overwhelmed and upset On Saturday in Brooklyn, N.Y., junior welterweight titleholder Devin Haney will end a wild promotion fight to get a fight of the night, and to ensure that. there is nothing The whole incident could have been predicted from start to finish. As the dust settles, we asked our staff to weigh in on the fight and its aftermath (just kidding).
Tris Dixon: What just happened? I'm just talking about the past eight weeks. I still don't know if I believe what I saw, if Garcia needs psychological testing, or if they need me now. Aside from the fact that he lost weight, which is a real negative, but somehow almost got washed away, you have to give Garcia credit for what he did in his match with Devin Haney.
That said, Haney said afterward that it was his fault for falling asleep on Garcia's left hook. That's hardly professional. It's literally the weapon Garcia is best known for. We often sympathize with fighters when their best-laid plans go awry, but of course we're talking about Garcia. Up front, he has been accused of ascending to the status of gatekeeper, and while he may not deserve the “face of boxing” tag that some people throw at him, he has quickly become a major player. Back in the mix and in the next position. A massive battle.
And how much did those extra 3.2 pounds help Haney, who still looked sunken and exhausted despite spending more than 24 hours hydrating and refueling?
But frankly, I'm glad this particular whirlwind is over.
David Greisman: Some will criticize Garcia, but he still has an official win, which means more opportunities for him. The only question is what that opportunity will be. Garcia has said he can't do 140, and I imagine many junior welterweights won't take the chance of Garcia coming overweight again. It remains to be seen how Garcia will fare against a welterweight opponent, but there is certainly interest.
There are a lot of questions about Haney that won't be answered until we see him compete against other junior welterweights. The good news for Haney is that he still has the world title, and there are a lot of people who want to face him even at 140, and now that he's lost the desire to face him. may become even larger.
Manuk Akopian: Garcia was given the puncher's chance to defeat Haney, proving he doesn't need a glimmer of hope to overwhelm his rival in a way no one believed. Garcia came into the fight looking like a train wreck, but ended up breaking Haney's rail and knocking him down three times with his trademark left hook.
Garcia certainly survived the situation, but his win has an asterisk because he intentionally went over his weight. “Why do I have to put on weight to get weaker? No, I'm here to win, that's all,” Garcia said unapologetically on Friday.
Garcia paid a hefty fee (reportedly $1.5 million to Haney) for a calculated move that cost him the chance to win his first world title.
Yes, he won and looked dominant in doing so. But his career-defining performance was overshadowed by a sinister plan. Winning by any means necessary should not mean intentionally creating an uneven playing field.
Lucas Ketel: Sometimes things happen that we don't expect. It happened last night. Nearly a decade ago, a star was born, as Conor McGregor claimed to have KO'd Jose Aldo in another high-profile mixed martial arts bout. It wasn't the plot of the movie, it was Garcia who actually made it happen.
Kieran Mulvaney: Okay, I'll be the skunk at the party. A great fight and Garcia's big win deserves a lot of credit. But amidst heart-thumping from certain promotional groups, the couple hit back: “No, this does not mean Garcia “fabricated” or that media members who raised concerns should apologize. Just because Garcia didn't start singing “I've Got a Pain in My Sawdust” in a fetal position on the canvas doesn't mean he's not feeling well. He absolutely needs people around him to take care of him, perhaps now more than ever.
Also, the way this battle unfolded was terrible. In such a dangerous sport, references to always wanting to kill your opponent are all too easily tolerated. And let's not forget that Garcia directly ignored his contract weight limit. Yes, it was a great night for boxing, but I don't think boxing deserved it.
John Evans: After the match, Garcia suddenly appeared calm and collected, marking a stunning victory. Garcia may have been operating behind a smokescreen since the fight was announced, but losing weight by such a large margin is very real and should not be forgotten.
Only Haney knows whether he was intimidated by Garcia's actions before the fight or confused by his speed and power. But while Haney looked confident in his win over Regis Prograis, he was anything but confident against Garcia.
We've been waiting a long time for a generation of American lightweights to start mixing it up, and they're finally starting to produce the drama we've all been expecting.
Owen Lewis: I'm feeling pretty stupid right now. As far as I can tell, even before the social media meltdown, Garcia had no chance against the calm, flawless Haney. In my original BoxingScene column, I criticized this matchup and said I wish Gervonta Davis, Teofimo Lopez, or Shakur Stevenson had fought Haney instead. I even had my doubts about the power of Garcia's left hook since he has yet to actually cause any damage to an A-level opponent.
Kudos to Garcia for proving me completely wrong about everything. Garcia's stunning victory doesn't mean he doesn't need mental health help. Haney's goofy chin cracked (assist and asterisk goes to Garcia for jumping the weight), but what was most surprising was how the defensively sound Haney avoided that devastating left hook. I couldn't find it. 'The Dream' is now facing the biggest reality check of his young career.
Jason Langendorff: Shock and awe. After the medical biohazard dumpster fire of Promotion, the fight itself was the one that left us slack-jawed. Certainly, Garcia's power makes him dangerous in any matchup, and we've seen Haney wobble against the likes of the aging Jorge Linares.But I can tell you I've never seen that Arrival. But here's the real question: Why didn't Haney do that?
As former 154-pound titleholder Ish Smith I wondered aloud. Why wasn't there a more obvious and observed plan for Team Haney to eliminate Garcia's best weapon, he asked on his Zombie Twitter account immediately after the match?
I expected Garcia to be gone after all this, but his win actually made 140 (and above) more interesting. My only concern as a boxing fan is that more fighters will substitute style for substance, abuse the scale system, and act like unprofessional idiots.
