Devin Haney Vs. Ryan Garcia: Strategic Analysis

Unbeaten WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney will defend his title against longtime rival Ryan Garcia this Saturday, April 20, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Devin and Ryan are very familiar with each other, having played in the amateur tournament six times, they split the points with an even score of 3-3.

This match will decide the score and put the winner on the championship path when he faces the other divisional champions: Subriel Matias, Isaac Cruz and Teofimo Lopez.

Ryan Garcia took a unique approach to both sell the fight and engage in psychological warfare against Devin Haney.

His antics are both humorous and disturbing. At the final press conference yesterday, his character appeared as a combination of Mike Tyson and Conor McGregor. Ryan has repeatedly questioned Devin's masculinity through social media and it seems to have had some effect on him, as Devin angrily pushed Ryan in their face atop the Empire State Building on Tuesday.

Saturday, Ryan needs to be more calculating. He's boxing a technician with great lateral movement and an excellent jab. He must find a way to both cut the ring and neutralize Devin's jab. Jorge Linares, Joseph Diaz and Vasiliy Lomachenko all competed against Haney. They looked for ways to close the gap and challenge Haney.

At Thursday's press conference, Haney said he would meet Ryan in the middle of the ring. If this is true, Garcia could legitimately compete with Haney.

In his matches against Linares and Diaz, Haney revealed his weakness in left defense. Linares landed several checking hooks and Diaz connected with several overhand shots. Garcia's best punch is his left hook, he also has good speed and power.

If he can effectively defend Haney's jab by blocking and sliding, he will be able to reduce Devin's offense and create an opening to land lefts. Against Diaz, Haney only threw 24 more punches.

In his most recent fight against Regis Prograis – – Devin looked impressive but what many people forget is that the 34-year-old had a similar performance against Danielito Zorrilla, landing 42 punches. Just six less than what he had with Devin, 36 punches (Compubox).

If Devin Haney can utilize lateral movement effectively, as he is expected to do, he will force Ryan to be mobile and create offensive challenges for Garcia.

As a professional boxer, Ryan has faced very few mobile fighters. Emmanuel Tagoe is the last person that comes to mind, when he was knocked out in the second round by Garcia, he was able to survive the fight by utilizing lateral movement to dodge Garcia as much as possible.

Even though he lost, Garcia showed some limitations in his ability to cut through the ring. That fight was almost two years ago, and if the 25-year-old Garcia doesn't improve in that area, he will struggle against a much quicker and more elusive Haney.

Will Ryan's insults cause Devin to become undisciplined and fight against Ryan, fighting internally? There is some familiarity between the two because they have faced each other in the past.

Ryan will find a way to time Devin and land the perfect punch. Haney, if disciplined, will cover the outside, control the distance, use the jab and take Garcia down.