Someone on Ryan Garcia’s or Devin Haney’s teams decided to take a tune-up on May 2nd rather than go straight into a rematch in their doubleheader at Times Square in New York City.
It could come down to which of these fighters needed a tune-up more: the recently beaten Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) or Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs). Who would need a tuneup more? Turki Al-Sheikh likely would have been up for making the rematch right away rather than having the two fighters take tune-ups that one or both could lose.
Kingry is in an excellent position to win his tuneup because he’s facing Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero, who was knocked out by Isaac Cruz last year. He’s not a threat to Ryan. Haney is fighting former unified 140-lb champion Jose Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs), and there’s a good chance he could lose this fight.
From 2019 to 2021, Ramirez was considered the #1 fighter in the light welterweight division until he lost to Josh Taylor by a close decision. Taylor got a couple of flash knockdowns, but he was worked over by Ramirez in that fight.
Dangerous Dice Roll
“If they’re not fighting each other, it’s one person’s responsibility. It’s someone on either side to blame,” said Ade Oladipo to DAZN Boxing about Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney not fighting each other on the May 2nd card.
“Whether it be Devin and his team or Ryan and his team. Someone said no to them not fighting each other because, as we’ve seen with Turki, he makes these fights. They turn around very, very quickly. We got to see the Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury rematch straight away, and we got to see Bivol-Beterbiev straightaway.
“He would have done this fight straightaway. Someone on either side said, ‘No, no, no. Let’s have one warmup, and then we’ll go straight into it.’ I don’t like it. We did this with Wilder-AJ. I interviewed Wilder and said, ‘You’re on the same card as AJ. This just makes no sense.’ All of a sudden, Joseph Parker beat Deontay Wilder, and Wilder-AJ looks like it’s done forever.
Given that Haney was already talking about wanting a tune-up fight in March with BLK Prime, it’s possible that he was the one who wanted the tune-up fight first before fighting Ryan Garcia in a rematch in October. It’s more in Haney’s best interest to redeem himself first to reestablish his credibility than it is for Garcia. Haney lost the fight to Ryan and was dropped three times. Who would need a tuneup more than Haney?
“So, I don’t like rolling the dice like this,” said Ade. “These guys [Garcia and Haney] should go at each other straight away. It’s not a case of Ryan hasn’t fought for a year when this fight rolls around, and Devin has had a couple of fights in between. No, Devin hasn’t fought either. So, they’re both on an equal playing field. Why do this?
Ramirez’s Threat
“I will say this, though. [Jose] Ramirez is a dangerous fight for Devin Haney. Haney is coming off a defeat and a couple of knockdowns. He got bashed up a bit by Ryan. I watched Ramirez’s fight. I was there in Riyadh against Arnold Barboza Jr. It was quite competitive.
“Ramirez is a former [unified WBA and WBO light welterweight] champion. He’s no slouch. He’s no scrub. This is a tough fight for Devin. Ryan can get past Rolly a bit easier, but for Devin, I don’t think this is a gimme. Considering what he’s come through, I don’t know if this is the kind of fight that you want to talk straight into.”
This fight is completely dangerous for Haney, giving up against the 2012 U.S. Olympian and former WBC & WBO 140-lb champion Jose Ramirez first, using him as a tuneup. That’s crazy. Ramirez is someone who would have had an excellent chance of beating Haney before he lost to Ryan, but now he has an even better chance of winning. If you’re Devin, you don’t need this kind of fight.
“Ramirez is still quite dangerous. So, I don’t like the roll of the dice either. Again, it’s not down to Turki, either. Someone on either side said no to this because this fight would be happening straightaway if someone didn’t say no to it,” said Ade.
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