Ryan Garcia’s Recent Bizarre Behavior Makes Him Stay-Away Bet against Devin Haney
Knowing what to think of Ryan Garcia is an unsolvable puzzle. Garcia is active on social media and has grown a large audience. But Garcia’s behavior at times seems to be self-destructive, and his struggles with mental health are well-documented.
Being a social media star with mental health issues seems common with the job title. But being a boxer who isn’t thinking straight doesn’t typically end well, according to online boxing news. Garcia, 28, is about to be in a difficult spot for anyone who doesn’t believe in himself.
This Saturday, Garcia will be tasked with trying to beat one of the best super lightweights in the world, Devin Haney, in Brooklyn, New York. Haney is 31-0 in his career. During his career, Haney has 15 knockouts, but has won his previous eight fights by unanimous decision.
Garcia Isn’t Afraid of Big Fights
While Garcia’s resume doesn’t have the resume of victories over great opponents that some of his contemporaries have, he has been willing to take on difficult challenges. In 2023, Garcia was able to fight Gervonta Davis, another of boxing’s brightest last April in Las Vegas.
However, Garcia’s toughest challenge of his career didn’t go how he hoped. Garcia faced a lot of criticism from people in the boxing community after his loss to Davis. Following a body shot in the seventh round, Garcia chose not to get off his knee.
This was Garcia’s first professional loss. Garcia is 24-1 overall and has a nice arsenal of power shots. Twenty of his career victories have come by knockout. Trying to hit Haney will be a different kind of challenge for Garcia.
Garcia’s personal demons have gotten much more public recently. There was even a story leaked by Garcia himself that he would need a mental health evaluation before he fought Haney. The posts that raised concern about Garcia included ones on conspiracy theories and others about aliens.
Catch Haney If You Can
Haney has made a career of slowly stacking up championship belts. At age 25, Haney became a two-weight world champion when he beat Regis Prograis for the WBC super lightweight title. Before beating Prograis, Haney had won and defended the WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO and The Ring lightweight titles.
Haney does have a few impressive victories under his belt. The most notable is a decision win over Vasiliy Lomachenko. However, as seemingly every fight that goes to a decision in boxing seems to provoke, there was a lot of controversy over his victory.
Prediction for Main Event
This is another tough challenge for Garcia. Haney is a slick boxer who is happy to go the distance and attempt to win a more technical fight. Garcia isn’t someone who likes to try and go the distance.
While there is a chance that Haney and Garcia will go the distance, getting Haney at money to win by knockout is a solid line to grab. There is also a line posted for the fight to go under 10.5 rounds, and that would also bring back plus money. The accumulation of Haney’s punches will eventually wear down Garcia and usher him out of the fight.
Ramirez in Search of a Championship
Today, boxing news online shows that John Ramirez and David Jimenez will square off for the WBA interim flyweight title. Jimenez has shown a nice amount of pop early in his career. The Costa Rican fighter has 11 wins by knockout.
Recent boxing news shows that Ramirez didn’t start boxing until later than most fighters. Ramirez, an American, didn’t start boxing until he was 20. Since turning professional back in 2020, the 27-year-old has been piling up victories.
Ramirez is now 13-0 as a professional and has won nine of those bouts by knockout. The most impressive win on Ramirez’s ledger was a knockout of former world title challenger Ronald Batista.
Bets to consider: Fight to go the distance -186, Rameriz three-way moneyline -200
Barboza Set Up to Make a Splash
Arnold Barboza Jr. is still waiting to make his splash on the world stage. Barboza is undefeated through his first 28 professional fights. He has won five consecutive fights by unanimous decision.
Barboza has yet to make a big splash on the world stage. He won the WBO International light welterweight title in October 2020 and has defended the belt three times. Barboza will now take on an Irish first in Sean McComb.
McComb has an accomplished amateur background and won a bronze medal representing Ireland at the European games. McComb has struggled to get big opportunities. He won the WBO European super lightweight title in December 2022. McComb has picked up five straight wins.
Barboza is a big favorite to win this fight, so there is no value on his moneyline. This is a fight that will likely go the distance, as McComb has proven hard to finish during his career. Unless you really like McComb, he is priced as a +650 underdog to win, it is better to play an over on a time prop to bring the price down on Barboza.
Bets to consider: Fight to go the distance, Barboza by decision
Melikuziev Looks to Build Career Off Strong Amateur Background
Bektemir Melikuziev launched himself onto the world stage by earning a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Melikuziev has been rebuilding his reputation after suffering his first career loss in June 2021 when he lost by KO to Gabriel Rosado.
Melikuziev has picked up six straight victories since losing to Rosado. He won the vacant WBO Global super-middleweight title by knocking out Ulises Sierra in January 2023. Melikuziev then avenged his previous loss to Rosado during a 10-round unanimous decision win last April.
Bets to consider: Melikuziev by KO, Under 8.5 rounds
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By Dean McHugh.