Claressa Shields favors WBC light welterweight champion Devin Haney over Ryan Garcia in their mega-fight on April 20th on DAZN.
Shields sees Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) as having had “harder fights” and has “grown more” than Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs), who hasn’t shown the same improvements in his game during his eight-year pro career.
Claressa feels that the fight will be competitive early due to Ryan’s attributes, but Haney will start pulling away in the middle rounds and then dominate late. She sees the fight going to a decision.
Experience Gap
“Devin Haney has had harder fights, more challenging fights, and he’s grown more. I don’t know I can say that about Ryan,” said Claressa Shields to Fight Hub TV, giving her thoughts on the Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia fight on April 20th.
Haney has run through some tough opponents in the last five years, beating these fighters:
– Regis Prograis
– Vasily Lomachenko
– George Kambosos Jr x 2
– Joseph Diaz Jr.
– Jorge Linares
– Alfredo Santiago
– Zaur Abdullaev
– Yuriorkis Gamboa
“It’ll be entertaining. You’ll see Ryan go out there and be entertaining, throwing his combinations and be sharp,” said Shields. “But I think Devin is a better boxer, and I see him making Ryan run into some things, and it’ll be a unanimous decision for Devin.
Ryan’s Potential Downfall
“I see it as a close competitive fight early, and I say that because of Ryan’s attributes. He’s got heart. He’s fast, he’s flashy. He’s got some punching power to. I just think that as Devin figures him out, the fight will become a little more one-sided toward the middle rounds and toward the end rounds.
“I’m not saying Ryan will go out there and be washed. I haven’t seen Ryan make improvements that I would like to see him make or just add more to his arsenal and just fix some of his mistakes. One of his mistakes is when he jabs, he squints his eyes. That split second that you’re squinting your eyes is that split second that you get dropped,” said Shields.
