Boxing analyst Tim Bradley believes Ryan Garcia exploited his weight benefit as a instrument to defeat heavy favourite Devin Haney final Saturday evening.
Bradley notes that Ryan (25-1, 20 KOs) by no means even tried to make the contracted weight of 140 lbs eventually Friday’s weigh-in. He got here in 3.2 lbs over the restrict at 143.2 lbs.
Bradley feels that Ryan’s additional weight gave him a bonus as a result of he didn’t have to empty himself the way in which Haney did (31-1, 15 Kos), who did make weight at 140 lbs.
Some followers really feel that Bradley can’t admit that he received it incorrect, contemplating that he’d picked Haney to win, and felt that Ryan wasn’t mentally prepared for this combat. Bradley even mentioned that he would possibly cease commentating if Ryan received.
Garcia’s Chubby Benefit
“What he realized from Gervonta Davis [fight], he took it into Devin Haney. Folks say, ‘Haney took the cash.’ He needed to as a result of he was damned if he do, damned if he don’t. He needed to as a result of this was an enormous occasion. You draw back, and you’re going to anger quite a lot of people,” mentioned boxing analyst Tim Bradley to the Sean Zittel YouTube channel, discussing Ryan Garcia’s win over Devin Haney.
“If it’s solely 3.2 lbs, why wasn’t it tried to be made? Why didn’t Ryan Garcia try and make the burden?” mentioned Bradley about Ryan Garcia coming in chubby on the weigh-in final Friday at 143.2 lbs as a substitute of 140.”
Ryan mentioned he tried to make the burden, however he gave up late at evening when he couldn’t lose the remaining kilos. He wished to make weight, as he’d wager Hane $500,000 per pound. It ended up costing Ryan $1.5 million. So clearly, this wasn’t a deliberate transfer on Ryan’s half as a result of if it was, he wouldn’t have agreed to the wager.
“He mentioned it in a Tweet, ‘I don’t need to drain myself,” mentioned Bradley about Ryan. “I need to be bodily robust for the combat.’ Properly, guess who drained himself to make the burden? Devin ‘The Dream’ Haney. Now, it’s not Ryan’s fault. He didn’t even try and make the burden.
“So, Ryan went into this combat with a bonus. Every part we [the media] say within the lead-up to this combat, we don’t know he’s not planning to make weight. We’re not banking on that. We’re banking on talent for talent. Their final performances.”
Once more, Ryan says he tried to make the burden, however when it was apparent that he wasn’t going to have the ability to shed the final three lbs, he gave up and selected to pay Haney the $1.5 million.
I don’t assume the burden gave Ryan an unfair benefit on this combat. What gave him a bonus was his pace and energy, and the truth that Haney’s punch resistance hasn’t been the identical since being damage quite a few instances in his combat in opposition to Jorge Linares in 2021. Haney’s capability to take a punch has been weak since then, with him getting damage by Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz and Vasily Lomachenko.
The Significance of Truthful Play
“I simply need to elaborate on that. Ryan Garcia had a bonus. It wasn’t a good taking part in subject right here. Devin Haney acted like a real skilled all over. He made his contracted weight,” mentioned Bradley. “Perceive that. Garcia didn’t and it helped him on this combat.
“Haney isn’t a giant puncher, however he’s a good puncher, however he [Ryan] was strolling by way of his stuff prefer it was nothing. Each shot Ryan threw, it buckled Haney. Even when it was a grazing blow, it buckled him. However I let you know proper now, it’ll be completely different.”
Ryan was strolling by way of Haney’s photographs as a result of his legs have been gone after being damage within the first spherical. After getting nailed by a left hook from Ryan in spherical one, Haney’s legs seemed rubbery, and he didn’t have a powerful basis.
What additional sapped Haney’s energy was that he was on the surface, and diving in to clinch. He wasn’t sitting down on his punches as a result of he was so afraid of being clipped once more by one in every of Ryan’s highly effective left hooks.
“If three kilos isn’t a lot, why didn’t Ryan try and make it?” mentioned Bradley, sounding like a conspiracy theorist. “It will have weakened his resolve. There’s little doubt in my thoughts. Now, you’ve received a good taking part in subject. Now, it’s a little bit bit completely different. Now, it might have taken one thing away from his punching energy that he [Ryan] had as a result of he seemed heavy.”
The way in which that Ryan was punching, he would have been robust even when he had misplaced the three.2 lbs to make weight final Friday. Haney would have been knocked out within the seventh spherical if not for referee Harvey Dock stopping the motion to take some extent away from Ryan for hitting on the break.
Questioning Garcia’s Win
“Folks say, ‘Haney will get as much as 165 lbs.’ That’s blown up. That’s a ton of sodium and water retention,” mentioned Bradley. “He’s not making his weight correctly. You could have Ryan. He had possibly three extra kilos on him. He seemed so dense and so large in that combat with Haney.”
Haney has been wanting enormous for his fights since his two fights in opposition to George Kambosos Jr. in 2022. That has nothing with sodium retention and extra to do with him being a man that ought to be combating at welterweight as a substitute of 140.
“Haney seemed like a small man. Often, Haney is the larger man. He was small in comparison with Ryan Garcia,” mentioned Bradley. “So, that’s what he had in his favor. So, I look it and assume, ‘What sort of credit score do you give Ryan?’”
Haney seemed simply as large as Ryan final Saturday. The one distinction was Ryan was a little bit taller at 5’10” than him. You bought to offer Ryan credit score for the win as a result of he knocked Haney down thrice [six times if you count the three non-calls in the seventh].
“How a lot credit score do you give him when he had a bonus going into the combat?” mentioned Bradley. “You had a contracted weight that you simply knew you weren’t going to make. In that case, you must have made the combat at 143 with no belt connected to the combat, however he didn’t.
“That may have helped Haney on this bout. It will have helped him soak up the photographs Ryan was throwing and touchdown,” mentioned Bradley.
