Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia have a lot in common but couldn’t be more different.
The fighters meeting for Haney’s 140-pound title on Saturday’s pay-per-view in Brooklyn are both 25 years old and talented. Both are from California. Both had strong amateur careers, including six fights against each other. Each of them has won three times.
And both have become famous professional boxers, with millions of dollars in their bank accounts to prove it.
So where are they different? Where do we start?
Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) is a two-division defending champion who has climbed up the fight list after a series of impressive wins over top opponents, including defeating Regis Prograis to won the belt in December.
The San Francisco native has succeeded in part because of his mental toughness and discipline, which has allowed him to make the most of his talent. One day he may become the No. 1 salesman.
Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) is at least as fast as Haney — maybe faster — and he certainly punches harder than his opponent, as his knockout percentage shows. He also has some important wins, most notably defeating Luke Campbell and Javier Fortuna.
However, unlike Haney, he failed the only time he faced an equal opponent. Gervonta Davis stopped him with a body shot in the seventh round.
And perhaps more significantly, Garcia, who has admitted to mental health problems, seems as emotionally fragile as Haney is stable and tough. Many believe weakness will be his downfall when they cross the rope on Saturday night.
Social media stars exhibit erratic behavior, taking strange photos of celebrities or claiming to know who killed rapper Tupac Shakur, to name two examples. He also posted a photo of himself smoking what appeared to be marijuana just seven weeks before the fight, which he admitted was a mistake.
The red flag first appeared to me the next day, at a press conference in Los Angeles, where he admitted that he had made mistakes and that it might be difficult for a 25-year-old to become a star.
“Sometimes the weight of the world feels like it’s on my shoulders,” he said.
That’s certainly true, but at the same time, it’s a strange observation since most fighters strive to promote strength, not weakness, when leading a fight.
Haney appeared sincere when he repeatedly asked Garcia during the press conference whether Garcia planned to play or not. Garcia never responded, which was strange.
Was Garcia in trouble before he stepped into the ring?
Well, Haney is a favorite of about 6½-1 (the average of many outlets), which is a wide spread given Garcia’s pedigree. The bettors clearly believe that Haney’s combination of ability and intense focus will be too much for a mentally weak challenger.
Garcia can fool us. Again, he also has his own natural abilities and gifts. And he has overcome obstacles in the past.
For example, he gets up after a fall to stop the competent Campbell, proving that he can be resilient. And he returned from a difficult 15-month layoff – dealing with mental challenges – to deliver strong performances against Emmanuel Tagoe and Fortuna.
Stranger things than a strange, seemingly distracted opponent knocking out a champion have happened in boxing.
For his part, Garcia claims that he has improved as a fighter after training with the respect of Derrick James. And he suggests that there is a solution to his madness.
“You can’t deny all the work that Derrick and I put in,” he said Wednesday. “My technique is better, hands up, chin down. What do you all have to say? Social media is all just noise. I post something and then people think I’m crazy.
“I know what I’m doing.”
We shall see.
This is a huge challenge for him. Once again, Haney has all the ability in the world and is as locked into boxing as anyone. He’s rolling. We can only guess what Garcia will bring into the ring.
