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Devin Haney faces Ryan Garcia in their junior welterweight clash on April 20.
Haney defends his WBC belt, but after Garcia failed to make weight, he has missed out on the chance of getting the title. Garcia weighed 3.2 pounds over the limit. The boxer was unconcerned, while Haney questioned his professionalism. They have fought each other six times in the amateurs. Their record stands at 3-3. The winner takes all, as there is no rematch clause.
Breakdown
Garcia’s antics have dominated the pre-fight build-up. However, there are question marks over how much of that was due to mind games. Garcia will have to be on his A-game. Haney is a slick boxer with excellent lateral movement and possesses one of the best jabs in boxing.
He will have to cut the ring off, close the distance and hurt Devin. But in doing so, he must neutralize Haney’s jab. Jorge Linares, and Vasiliy Lomachenko found some success. Linares rocked Haney, giving Garcia confidence he can do the same. Lomachenko arguably beat Haney even if the decision went against him.
Haney has promised to meet Garcia in the centre of the ring. But Haney’s bouts against Linares and Jojo Diaz showed his defensive flaws. Linares connected with numerous hooks, while Diaz landed plenty of overhand lefts. If Garcia can parry or slip Haney’s jab, he can exploit that with his left hook. But for Haney, he knows Garcia has lost on the biggest stage. Gervonta Davis stopped Ryan after equally talked a big game. He may make Garcia quit if Haney can take him to deep waters. Here are the predictions from the boxing pros.
Predictions
“A fantastic fight, a perfect fight for Devin, and a perfect fight for DAZN, a great fight for Ryan Garcia. Fair play to both guys. Devin Haney, in my opinion, is a pound-for-pound great. I think he’s the future face of boxing. There are two tremendous young fighters putting it on the line on April 20th. I’m looking forward to a massive night. I think Devon wins by late stoppage or points. Devon wins the fight, but Ryan’s dangerous. Actually, as a style matchup, Ryan’s actually got a pretty good style to take on Devon,” Eddie Hearn
“He’s got to be himself and understand that this fight means more than the fight that he fought with Gervonta Davis. Prove and believe and also understand that you only get too many cracks or bites at the Apple. So this particular bite makes it count. Make it count, you know what I mean? So you got to take care of your business. You got to look at the mistakes, look at the missteps, and correct them way before the night of the fight. Obviously, and understand that this fight means more than a fight that he fought with Gervonta Davis,” Bernard Hopkins
Further Predictions
“I understand why Haney is the favorite. He should be the favorite, you know, I think, I think even, you know, Ryan Garcia is no dummy. He’s, he’s a knowledgeable person about the perspective on him and his career. He understands there’s a reason why Devin would be the favorite,” Dan Rafael
“Obviously, we’ve seen a lot of madness from Garcia, and it’d be interesting to see what state of mind is he going into the fight. Um, yeah, I have Haney as the favorite. Quality fighter, really impressed me over his last number of fights. Um, Garcia is very fast, fast hands, nice boxer, but I don’t know. I just, I mean, just some of the stuff that’s going on in the background, the things that Garcia says, I don’t know where he’s at mentally, and I think for him to beat someone like Devon Haney, everything needs to be perfect, um, and I’m not sure it is for him at the minute,” Carl Frampton
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