Promoter Eddie Hearn says he’s favoring WBC light welterweight champion Devin Haney as the guy he’s backing to win the April 20th mega-clash on DAZN PPV with superstar Ryan Garcia, but he still sees Kingry as being a “dangerous” threat.
Hearn feels that Ryan’s power and his fast hands make him a threat to Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) in this fight because he only needs to land one hard shot to win. Devin is chinny, and was lucky not to have been knocked out in at least two fights.
Haney’s promoters have been careful to keep him away from punchers since his close call against Jorge Linares in 2021. The only guy Haney has fought since then with any power was Regis Prograis, but he was old at 35.
Haney would still have had problems with Prograis’ power if he hadn’t used his Shakur Stevenson knockoff copycat style to avoid getting clipped, and he made it very boring for the Bay Area fans last December in San Francisco. You could hear booing from the fans, who weren’t pleased with Devin’s step-back style.
Size Matters, But No Rehydration Clause
“I think Devin wins the fight, but Ryan is dangerous. As a style match-up, Ryan has a pretty good style to take on Devin,” said Eddie Hearn to Fighthype, talking about the April 20th fight between WBC light welterweight champion Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia on DAZN PPV.
“He’s reactive, he can punch. He’s technically sound, but Devin is so good in so many areas,” said Hearn.
If Haney comes to fight on April 20th and not make it boring, he will have to take Ryan’s left hook smash, and it’s going to be interesting to see if he can handle his power without dropping for the ten count.
“Up at 140, he’s a different fighter now. You saw that in the Regis Prograis fight. I think he’s a big favorite in the fight, but I respect Ryan, and I give him a live chance in the fight. No, no, and I think that’s important for a 140 championship,” said Hearn when asked if there’s a rehydration clause for the fight.
“I don’t see any point in a rehydration clause for the fight. and I think that’s good for Devin and Ryan. So, they’ll both be healthy and in their absolute prime in the ring.
No Rematch Clause, But a Big Stage
No,’ said Hearn when asked if there’s a rematch clause for the fight. “I think it’s a brilliant move taking it to Brooklyn to the Barclays Center. We’ve seen so many PBC fights there. Some of which worked and some of which didn’t. But it’s a fantastic arena, and New York is a fantastic area for boxing,” said Hearn.
You can argue there’s no rematch clause because Devin is overconfident and believes he’s got the win in the bag. But it also could be that Haney doesn’t care if he loses his WBC title because if he wins, he will be stuck with having to defend against his mandatory Sandor Martin.
“When you’ve got Canelo Alvarez potentially fighting on May 4th, two weeks later, why not go to another massive market for that fight? So, I think New York is always dying out for big fights. That’s a massive fight. I expect it to sell out very quickly,” said Hearn about the Haney vs. Garcia contest.
