By Elliot Worsell
The great thing about writing previews before the advent of social media and the push for fighters to keep you informed of their every thought and action was this: the focus and frame of reference of a People tend to be narrow and specific. You don't focus on what a fighter posted online when bored, crying for help, or craving validation, but instead on their fighting style and what they did in the ring. To some extent, you treat them as outlines, not as flawed human beings; flawed people whose flaws are made even more obvious by their addiction to social media.
In Ryan Garcia's case, perhaps the In this case, it is now difficult to separate the boxer from the spoiled young man. For example, at the time I wrote this, previewing his next fight, he was busy posting the following on social media: “I'm really excited when people say I'm crazy.”
Which, when viewed without context, could be mistaken for a throwaway comment written by any 13-year-old girl who's bored with school and needs someone to tell her she's special. However, given what we know about Garcia, and how over the past few months we've been subjected to countless conspiracy theories and his calls for help, it's hard not to see those comments as (a ) another warning sign or (b) mild discomfort.
Ultimately, how you choose to interpret Garcia's behavior will depend on whether you believe he was a young man battling personal demons or, instead, too hungry for attention , he will stop at nothing to get it. Some people, upon reading his words and watching his videos, will express concern, while others will feel that ultimately ignoring him is the best policy.
Devin Haney, Garcia's next opponent, always seemed to know Garcia's motives. He, with an eye roll and a shrug, said from the start that Garcia was just trying to cause chaos and create attention the only way he knew how. In reality, Haney could see nothing else and none of the empathy others had for Garcia when they first learned of his problems.
Perhaps, as his opponent, Haney must think so; showing no mercy, ignoring the humanity in the fighter he intended to defeat. Or perhaps, like so many people, Haney saw in Garcia a man whose quirky traits were – to put it mildly – no different from countless other boxers throughout history, just today , thanks to social networks, has just been exposed for the world to see and, worse and even more cynical, used as a promotional tool by both the boxers themselves and those around them.
In any case, the entire preparation for this event in Brooklyn was very disturbing; unofficial; wrong. For example, if Garcia appears remotely as unstable as it appears on his online attention-seeking screen, he won't be near a boxing ring this Saturday (20 April). Likewise, if it's all just some bizarre ruse or attempt to stir up controversy because he knows that's what his audience wants, then both Garcia and those around him have really made disappointed myself and the sport.
Barring Garcia now backing out or pulling an Oliver McCall/Andrew Golota-style melee on fight night, we may never know. But there can be no doubt that the course of this fight – especially Garcia's erratic behavior – has overshadowed what was initially announced as an exciting fight between two young super lightweights. Indeed, it doesn't help the fans – and more importantly Haney – feel confident that this game will even take place on Saturday. (Honestly, at the time of writing this and having previously written previews of fights that never happened, I'm still not sure if we'll see Haney and Garcia share the ring this weekend or not .)
Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia face off at the Empire State Building on April 16, 2024 in New York City (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Empire State Realty Trust)
However difficult it may be, we must try to refocus and see Haney and Garcia as just pure fighters. We have to forget what Garcia has revealed, both about himself and others, and we have to think of him and Haney as two superior athletes in one ring – orthodox, curling – not are not flawed young men. Only then can we make sense of this war and return to the purity of the old previews; when, somewhat refreshingly, it's just about the two fighters and the upcoming fight; when it all comes down to a mystery, one that doesn't necessarily leave you lacking in knowledge but instead helps you focus more on what's important: the two main characters.
Here, with Haney and Garcia, there is much to analyze and admire. Firstly, they are in their athletic prime, both at the age of 25. They met at the right time, not too early and not too late, and although they are both young, in recent years , they have accumulated a decent amount of experience at the highest level. . For example, Haney has gone the 12-round distance in each of his last eight fights and during this period has defeated Vasiliy Lomachenko, Regis Prograis, George Kambosos (twice), Jorge Linares, Joseph Diaz and Yuryorkis Gamboa. Meanwhile, Garcia has won fights at a lower level than this, but was involved in a big fight against Gervonta Davis, which took place in 2023, and to his credit, he successfully recovered from the defeat he suffered that night.
In short, we know a lot about both fighters, even though they are only 25 years old – an age often associated with unproven prospects these days. Haney can do 12 rounds in his sleep and has outlasted some very good men at this distance, while Garcia, one might argue, is now liberated from losing his record. defeat and will learn countless lessons from last year's loss to Davis.
In terms of confidence, Garcia's stoppage of Oscar Duarte in the eighth round in December will also do him good. It was the first and only fight he's had since losing to Davis — stopped in the seventh round by a body shot — and beating Duarte the way he did, at 143 pounds, exactly Exactly what the doctor ordered. New weight and new attitude, the expectation after this fight is that Garcia, 24-1 (20), will now start from scratch as a super lightweight and he will put on a show a more mature and mature version of himself, the result of having been knocked out by Davis at lightweight the previous April.
Instead, the new Garcia that the world got was quite different from what we expected. If anything, instead of maturing, Garcia over the past four months has shown the most disturbing immaturity and there have been many pleas for someone to intervene and help him. That's hardly a good way to approach a fight against a fighter as good as Devin Haney, but it's true nonetheless. In fact, for some, Garcia's actions over the past few months are more telling and revealing than anything he did during the eight-round run in which he dominated Duarte in December.
Ryan Garcia
For Haney, in contrast to Garcia, stability is the word. He is steady whenever he appears in the ring, often controlling his opponents and doing to them whatever he wants, and he is also steady outside of the ring; in which Haney, 31-0 (15), has only ever appeared as a professional model. Indeed, the only knock against Haney, the WBC super-lightweight champion, is to say that sometimes he is a bit also steady and a little also safe. Meaning: while someone like Garcia is all emotion, chaos and drama, creating quite a few cocktails in the ring, Haney is a fighter's mint tea. He's reliable, assured, and for purists, he's exactly what they want to sip before bed. For those people, there are healing properties in observing someone like Haney. Even just his jab, a punch he threw as well as anyone, was a true beauty; His control is also something to behold and respect, especially given the decisive victories he has had and the pressure on him to go against the grain and prioritize the bloodlust of the fans.
In that respect, an opponent like Garcia would be ideal for Haney. As seen, Garcia is happy to do the majority of the talking and selling and this leaves Haney, the craftsman, to work hard and focus only on what he does best on the night. painting. In fact, one could argue that Haney, who has eight consecutive decision wins under his belt, needs opponents like Garcia just to drum up interest in his fights, not so different from that Floyd Mayweather needed a perfect card or two during his long reign as champion. You see, Mayweather is also someone who is used to fighting 12 rounds, and while he's a bit more exciting than Haney, he also relies on the presence of stars like Arturo Gatti and Oscar De La Hoya to attract interest. Pay attention to your game and raise the bar. His profile reached new heights.
With Ryan Garcia, Haney expects the same thing. He will also expect to use Garcia's emotions and instability against him and maybe in the process wear him down and earn his first stoppage win since 2019. Which, when taking into account everything we've seen from Garcia over the past few months, seems inevitable. conclusion to this fight, as there certainly couldn't be a worse fighter, if mentally struggling, than someone like Devin Haney; someone whose steadfastness and consistency are a cruel reminder of everything that Ryan Garcia is currently lacking.
