Devin Haney-Ryan Garcia: Stats & Stakes

Previewing Saturday's PPV event at Barclays

Boxing is flirting with disaster on Saturday night at the Barclays Center (DAZN PPV, 8 PM EST). 

Maybe the erratic behavior for weeks; the odd ball interviews; the missing weight by more than three pounds; maybe it’s all part of some wild master plan for Ryan Garcia to pick up a must-have victory before he apparently tackles welterweight full time.

Maybe.

Or maybe Ryan Garcia is a talented kid with significant out of the ring issues who might not be the best candidate for getting punched in the head right now. Plenty of people are laughing but this isn’t funny. We might be watching a very sad tale unfold. There’s something gross and cynical about the build to this event, down to an element of “the show must go on” even after the latest embarrassment in a promotion full of them. 

Garcia didn’t just blow weight. He went on social media and bragged about it; stepped on the scale chugging something (maybe it was beer, maybe it was theater). The first major boxer whose following was largely built on sites like Instagram and Twitter is showing the worst of what social media brings out of some of its stars. 

Infamy and shamelessness are far less important than clicks down that rabbit hole. 

If Garcia were a professional wrestler, it might be an entertaining heel schtick.

In a serious bloodsport, it’s genuinely troubling behavior. Lacking professionalism comes with a different price once this bell rings. 

They’ll sell tickets and pay-per-views on Saturday night, some hoping we get a good fight anyways, some hoping all hell breaks loose. That’s never the best selling point for a sport. 

Could Garcia be the proverbial crazy like a fox, setting the stage for his biggest night? Or is Haney, who actually made weight and is looking to move from boxing star to major star, use Garcia as a further launching pad? Garcia can’t win the title, but Haney can still lose it so stakes remain.  

Let’s get into it. 

Stats and Stakes