Analysis
Is Ryan Garcia ready for Devin Haney? Expert forecasts and analyses
Published
8 months agoon
By
J. HumzaDevin Haney will face Ryan Garcia in the massive main event of DAZN PPV on Saturday in Brooklyn, capping off one of the strangest pre-fight situations I can remember.
Haney is defending his WBC 140-pound world title against Garcia, whose pre-fight antics have many wondering if he’s really focused on the fight or if it was all just some weird games.
Will Garcia be able to pick up the win and hand Haney his first loss, or will Haney hand Ryan his second professional defeat?
Scott Christ (13-1)
I just can’t pick Ryan Garcia, guys. Even if the entire physique was “trolling”, a lot of energy goes into anything that isn’t his boxing training, and he needs to be much better than ever to win this fight.
Let’s say it’s the best Garcia versus the best Haney. Then Ryan’s chances come down to his strength, as he’s not as good a boxer as Haney and not as versatile. Haney fights smarter, more confidently and reacts less to his opponent. Garcia isn’t a bad fighter, remember, he has some skills and great natural talents that he doesn’t fully utilize, but Haney at his best is an elite boxer on the market today. Ryan has never been that kind of guy, but you want to explain “why.”
If it’s the best Haney vs. a Garcia who isn’t in his prime, Haney will dominate. Devin had been injured in fights before, but he was also trying to get used to those mistakes, even though they were relatively minor. He probably made a lucky decision against Vasily Lomachenko, but Garcia doesn’t fight anything like Lomachenko and, even at his best, he’s not going to test Haney the way Loma might.
There is no other choice here. Haney either keeps it or wins by wide and clear decision. The only thing that can throw Devin off balance now is “if.” To have he’s fighting too emotionally, which has never really been an issue for him, and I just don’t think Ryan Garcia’s attempts to upset him will work when the bell rings. He will just do what he has always done and that is the box because that is the focus of his life. Haney via TKO-11
Will Esco (11-3)
So, I recently got into Helldivers 2 and spent many hours developing sporadic and super samples to fully upgrade my warship (which I recently managed to achieve until the last update). Okay, some more work. I’m on one of the long, 40-minute Suicide Difficulty missions, and artfully traverse the entire map, collecting 31 samples on my own, chopping up Yellow Titans, and blasting Chargers, dodging an army of those pesky Stalkers along the way. I’m such a G
Finally, after investing a full 40 minutes in breeding samples and not taking any fatalities, I reach the mining zone where we set up defenses, expecting to be attacked by enemies who end up swarming in (you know, that’s exactly how the game mechanics are designed). Things get a little tense, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary given the difficulty level, and just as the extraction shuttle lands, instead of just jumping on the ship and completing the mission, one of the random idiots freaks out and calls for a cluster bomb strike on LZ — ALL OVER THE LZ WHERE WE ALL STAND! It wipes out the entire team, including myself, and costs me a precious 30 samples, 40 minutes of my life, and a painful frustration that still haunts me.
This is as relevant as anything Ryan Garcia has said in the last few months. Haney via TKO-10
John Hansen (11-3)
If you watch boxing for a year, you will see something terrifying. People die in this sport, and often. Aidos Yerbossynuly fell into a coma. Tank Davis goes to prison for domestic violence, and a week and a half later he’s released and fighting for a multi-million dollar payout. A judge openly contemptuous of blacks presents a blatant scorecard against the black fighter and conveniently in favor of his opponent, who happens to be a friend and compatriot of her husband’s boss.
Above all else, I think sending Ryan Garcia to fight on Saturday is the ugliest thing that has ever happened to me in my time in the sport.
There is clearly something wrong with this juvenile man. There is plenty of evidence that boxing could see a Kanye West or Britney Spears situation. Musicians don’t suffer brain damage or die when they miss a note. However, fit, focused, fully prepared combat sports athletes fighting at the top of their abilities can and do suffer life-ruining consequences. Garcia is not focused or fully prepared. During the preparations for this fight, he “gets high as hell” and appears at galas apparently under the influence of alcohol. But there are millions of dollars to be made, so friends, family, promoters, management, broadcasters and anyone else with room in their pockets will simply look away from the messy ailments plaguing this man.
Garcia has faster hands and stronger punches, and in another situation he could be overtaken by Devin Haney. But how can anyone assume Garcia is able to capitalize on those advantages now? Haney is the only reasonable prediction and I will stand by this decision because I really want both men to leave the arena with minimal long-term damage. Haney UD-12
Patryk Stumberg (12-2)
As a thought experiment, let’s give Ryan Garcia the benefit of the doubt. Let’s assume that his brief transformation into a side character from The Righteous Gemstones was a high-level psychological stunt and that he is, in fact, at the peak of his powers.
What has he done in the ring to suggest that his peak is even remotely close to Haney’s? Looking mortal against Gervonta Davis could be forgiven; He may be a thug, but “Tank” is a great fighter. There is no excuse for such a performance against Duarte. Garcia’s management hand-picked a lightweight with the most advantageous style imaginable, and he still looked significantly worse than when he stopped Luke Campbell.
Pure speed and power won’t allow him to beat Haney’s punch or handle Haney’s clinch, especially since both of those feats require a level of mental fortitude that Garcia simply doesn’t have. Garcia needs Haney out of the game to have any chance of winning, but I can’t imagine him shouting at someone who stayed placid against a fully focused Lomachenko. Haney takes him to school, potentially causing a overdue game stoppage if Garcia explodes under the stress of being helpless to turn things around. Haney UD-12
You may like
Analysis
Naoya Inoue defeats TJ Doheny in seven runs to retain undisputed crown
Published
8 hours agoon
January 18, 2025Naoya Inoue defended his undisputed super bantamweight title with a seventh-round TKO victory over TJ Doheny in a fight that had an unexpected ending and some compelling boxing ahead.
Inoue (28-0, 25 KO) was indeed stopped and was increasingly in control of the fight, but the stoppage came due to a lower back or leg injury to Doheny (26-5, 20 KO), whose shrewd, veteran-style boxing provided Inoue has decent looks, if not what you might call “fitting.”
Inoue seemed to be gaining a lot of momentum with his body work in the last few rounds before being stopped 16 seconds into the seventh round, and the outcome was looking less and less in doubt, but you don’t like to see any fighter get stopped for such a tiny thing that could happen there just happen.
To the 37-year-old Doheny’s credit, the Irish-Australian midfielder came in with a legitimate plan and had some success against the 31-year-old Inoue, even if it never looked like he would win the fight in the long run.
We’ll now wait to see what’s next for Inoue, who could potentially fight on Recent Year’s Eve, which is always a massive fight date in Japan, and which Inoue hasn’t actually fought, although he has had several December fights in his career, including the last three years.
With the main support, Yoshiki Takei (10-0, 8 KO) defended his WBO bantamweight title, leaving the ring – at least officially – to survive a great challenge from Daigo Higa (21-3-1, 19 KO) for 12 rounds.
Takei won a fantastic, action-packed fight with scores of 114-113, 114-113 and 115-112, which is a completely fair score, but it was one hell of a test for the 28-year-old titleholder as Higa looked so much like the guy he had be ahead of a tough series of five fights, in which he achieved a record of 2-2-1 in the 2018/21 season.
Analysis
Naoya Inoue claims he wasn’t in peak condition on the eve of his fight with TJ Doheny
Published
1 day agoon
January 18, 2025As Naoya Inoue prepares to defend his super bantamweight titles against TJ Doheny at Ariake Arena tomorrow, he says Heavenly sports that he’s training harder than ever in his career. Inoue says he doesn’t think Doheny is a player who can just go the distance, so he thinks he will have to be on the alert at all times.
And even though Inoue is considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport, he adds that he still hasn’t reached the top and says he’s still growing into the best version of himself.
“I don’t think I’m a finished product yet. There’s still a bit ahead of me. I know I can still become a better fighter. I hope the fans are looking forward to it too,” he said. To win this fight, I have to concentrate and knock him out. That’s the only thing I keep in mind when preparing for this fight. This is what I imagine now.”
Most fight fans who know Inoue will pick him as the clear favorite to dominate the upcoming fight, but Inoue and his team are taking a much more humble approach and say they rate Doheny as a powerful former champion who they don’t expect to be impressed by the reputation Inoue.
We will have live coverage of the morning fight, which will stream live on ESPN+ starting at 5:45 a.m. ET, so join us here at BLH for all the festivities and updates.
Analysis
Pacheco vs Sulecki: Live scores, RBR, how to watch
Published
2 days agoon
January 17, 2025Results:
Diego Pacheco and Maciej Sulecki meet tonight in Carson, California for the super middleweight main event on DAZN, which starts at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Pacheco (21-0, 17 KO) is a 23-year-old who is moving quickly through his development process against gatekeepers and prospect vets. This is his ninth fight in 27 months, and in the build-up he said he hopes his next fight will be against a bigger name, closer to the 168-pound top. rankings.
Before that happens, he will have to defeat Sulecki (32-2, 12 KO), a tough economic class opponent of Sergei Derevyanchenko. Sulecki’s only losses were to Danny Jacobs and Demetrius Andrade, and he also defeated some good but not world-class fighters such as Gabe Rosado, Hugo Centeno and Jack Culcay. Sulecki also mentions Derevychenko because he is a more natural middleweight, although he has not yet made 160 pounds. limit within five years.
In support we will see the US debut of the electrifying super featherweight Eduardo Nunez (26-1, 26 KO), who in February scored his 27th knockout victory over Shavkat Rakhimov, but did so on a show hosted by a widely disgraced and corrupt (even for very low standards of this sport!) IBA, so the rest of boxing largely does not count it.
Elsewhere on the card are Cheavon Clarke (9-0, 7 KO) vs. Efetobor Apochi (12-2, 12 KO) and Adelaida Ruiz (16-0-1, 8 KO) and Ginny Fuchs (3-0, 1 KO) for the interim WBC super flyweight title.
We’ll be going live tonight in the comments below, so join us at 7:30 PM ET!
Main card (DAZN, 7:30 p.m. ET)
- Diego Pacheco (21-0, 17 KO) vs Maciej Sulecki (32-2, 12 KO), super middleweight, 12 rounds
- Eduardo Nunez (26-1, 26 KO) vs. Miguel Marriaga (31-7, 26 KO), super featherweight, 10 rounds
- Arturo Cardenas (14-0-1, 8 KO) vs. Jesus Arechiga (21-1, 15 KO), super bantamweight, 10 rounds
- Cheavon Clarke (9-0, 7 KO) vs. Efetobor Apochi (12-2, 12 KO), cruiserweight, 10 rounds
- Adelaida Ruiz (16-0-1, 8 KO) vs. Ginny Fuchs (3-0, 1 KO), super flyweight, 10 rounds
Anthony Taylor collapsed minutes after Darren Till KO and viewers were left terrified
‘JOSHUA VS FURY IN WEMBLEY – BRITS DESERVE IT!’ – Dalton Smith on Adam Azim RIVALRY
Naseem Hamed Son Aadam Hamed Eyes Ryan Garcia Fight
Trending
-
MMA8 months ago
Max Holloway is on a mission at UFC 212
-
MMA8 months ago
Cris Cyborg ready to add a UFC title to her collection
-
Interviews3 months ago
Carl Froch predicts that Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol
-
MMA8 months ago
The Irish showed up in droves at the Mayweather-McGregor weigh-in
-
Interviews3 months ago
Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol
-
Boxing6 months ago
Lucas Bahdi ready to test his skills against Ashton Sylve
-
Interviews8 months ago
I fell in love with boxing again
-
Opinions & Features3 months ago
Dmitry Bivol: The story so far