By Adam Baskin: Ryan Garcia already has his sights set on challenging Devin Haney for his undisputed lightweight championship next if he successfully defeats Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in their 136-lb catchweight fight on April 22nd on Showtime PPV.
The Tank-Ryan clash, which Bill Haney views as having the charismatics of an exhibition match due to the two individual weight handicaps that the A-side fighter Gervonta set as a condition for Ryan to agree to for him to get the fight, will play out later this month.
Haney has a title defense that he must win against Vasily Lomachenko next month on May 20th on ESPN+ PPV at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. If Haney wins his fight and Ryan is victorious over the handicapper Tank Davis, we could see a Haney-Ryan fight later this year.
The magic question is whether the huge 160-lb Haney would agree to fight Ryan Garcia at 140 of if the match happens at 135 for Devin’s four lightweight titles.
It’s hard to imagine Haney being able to make 135 for one more fight beyond his defense against Lomachenko next month because he looked like a living zombie at the weigh-in for his last fight against George Kambosos Jr last October in Melbourne, Australia.
“Right after this, we calling out Devin Haney,” said Ryan Garcia to Raw Talk Podcast about the next opponent he wants after his fight against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis on April 22nd.
“Bring on Devin. That’s another prime-on-prime fight. Bring on Devin. I fought him six times in the amateurs. Now we need to have the seventh one.”
If Haney keeps pushing himself to drain massive amounts of water weight to keep him artificially at 135, he’s putting his health at serious risk for the sake of money.
Complications of dehydration:
- Swelling of the brain
- Kidney failure
- Shock
- Coma
- Seizures
- Death
If Ryan and Haney can fight at 140, that would be better for them because it would be a more manageable weight for them to make.
Ryan has outgrown the lightweight division, and there’s no point in him fighting for the undisputed 135-lb championship against Haney if he doesn’t intend on defending the belts if he emerges victorious.
Ryan and Haney have their hands complete trying to win their next fights.
While many boxing fans believe Haney has a cakewalk with his defense against the much smaller and older 35-year-old Lomachenko, we don’t know what it will do to Devin trying to make weight for this vital clash.