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Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney could be inching closer to upset losses on their shared May card in Times Square in New York. Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) fights Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz while Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) takes on former WBC/WBO 140-pound champion Jose Ramirez on the Turki Al-Sheikh card .
Impact of dismissal
Ryan and Haney picked the wrong set-up opponents to fight after 13-month layoffs. 2012 Olympian Jose Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) and former WBA light welterweight champion Pitbull Cruz are not the right opponents for any fighter coming off a year off. Those two would be a nightmare for Garcia and Devin, even if they were active.
If Kingry and Haney had good punch resistance and could handle getting beat up in the barn, facing Ramirez and Cruz wouldn’t be a big deal. It is not the case. Both are frail fighters who have been broken in battle.
Garcia-Cruz will fight at a catch weight of 143 or 144 at welterweight, and that’s perfect for the powerful 5’4″ Cruz (26-3-1, 18 KOs). In Pitbull’s two bouts at 140 against Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela and Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero, he was hitting with more power.
El Rayo likely would have been knocked out had he not used his new Lomachenko-esque movement to evade Cruz’s constant pressure. Kingry doesn’t have the same ability to move, and he’ll be forced to fight for three minutes of each round a bit at a time. If Ryan doesn’t hurt Pitbull, he’s going to be in trouble.
50-50 fights
Turki has given fans two great 50-50 fights with his Garcia-Cruz and Haney-Ramirez double in Times Square. If you’re okay with Ryan and Devin losing their fights, that’s great. Al-Sheikh is already planning Garcia-Haney to fight a rematch in October in Riyadh. This fight will be clouded if one or both of them miss their tune-up in May.
This is a better deal for PPV fans than if these two were fed tomato cans, as is the wont of high-profile rich wrestlers who go on extended layoffs.
On November 16, Jose Ramirez lost to highly ranked undefeated light welterweight contender Arnold Barboza Jr. by 10-round unanimous decision. That fight was competitive.
If Barboza Jr. had he been stopped, he wouldn’t have won because Ramírez worked him when he was in the pocket. Devin doesn’t have the same evasive style as Barboza, nor does he possess his power. He won’t be able to do the same things he did to fight Ramirez.
