Ryan Garcia secured a career best win when he defeated WBC super-lightweight champion Devin Haney at the weekend, and it seems that Garcia’s well publicised meeting with Floyd Mayweather a few months ago may have played a significant factor in the outcome.
‘King Ry’ had been linked to a clash with Haney at the beginning of the year until he was seen running with Mayweather – who has sparred Haney in the past.
Shortly after that footage hit the press, Garcia decided that he would instead wish to take on WBA champion Rolando Romero, perceived by many as a weaker champion that fans believed Mayweather advised as an easier target and smarter business.
However, those talks collapsed, and Garcia then pursued the showdown with Haney in one of the pay-per-view blockbusters of the year, but throughout the build-up, Garcia’s behaviour had fight fans questioning whether he was in a fit state to fight amid concerns surrounding his mental wellbeing.
These worries were seemingly confirmed at the weigh-in, as Garcia drank a ‘beer’ on the scales and celebrated his weight of 143.2lbs – over three pounds above the super-lightweight limit, meaning he would be unable to win Haney’s title.
Ahead of the fight, the confusing antics of Garcia had the public believing that he was already a beaten man, yet from the opening bell he refused to take a backwards step and delivered an emphatic performance to shock both Haney and the rest of the world, scoring three knockdowns on his way to a majority-decision win.
On social media, the young superstar revealed that Mayweather’s true advice was to purposefully come into the contest overweight and to use his size to his advantage to bully the champion – who usually finds himself weighing much heavier than his opponents on fight night.
“Floyd told me to come in over 3lbs. He told me ‘f**k Bill Haney’. Whatever.”
Mayweather has had his fair share of disagreements with Devin Haney’s coach and father in the past, partly stemming from Bill Haney’s declaration that his son caused ‘Money’ to retire after their sparring sessions. This tension has boiled over into an argument since the Haney-Garcia clash, after Mayweather offered to lend Devin Haney a helping hand following the defeat.
What’s next for Haney is unknown but issues surrounding his own ability to make 140lbs suggest that he may move up to the welterweight division and vacate his WBC crown.
Meanwhile, it seems as though confirmation of Garcia’s move up in weight is imminent, whether that be for a rematch with Devin Haney, a title bid against IBF world champion Jaron Ennis or a shock switch to 154lbs.
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