Boxing legend Shane Mosley views the April 20th match between Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia as an “equal fight” for their headliner on DAZN PPV.
Conversely, Mosley gives WBC light welterweight champion Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) an edge due to his skills, boxing ability, and superior opposition in the pro ranks compared to Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs).
What Mosley feels is the X-factor in favor of Ryan winning is his powerful left hook and ability to score a knockout at any time if he catches Haney, who doesn’t have the greatest punch resistance.
Haney hasn’t faced a slugger since being shaken up repeatedly by Jorge Linares in 2021. Although Devin’s last opponent, Regis Prograis, had some power, he was old and past it at 35, not the fighter he’d been during his best years from 2015 to 2019.
Ryan’s Power and History with Haney
“That’s a much harder fight. I would say that Devin has a bigger advantage. He would be able to outbox, move around, and understand Ryan,” said boxing expert Shane Mosley to Fighthype, analyzing the Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia fight on April 20th.
“At the same time, Ryan has fought Devin and knows his mistakes as well. So, he can capitalize, and Ryan does have a big left hook and a big punch,” Mosley continued. “We can see if Ryan can catch Haney with something.”
If Ryan catches Haney with his left hook on the button, he’ll be reduced to meteor dust. Haney’s fate will be that of Luke Campbell and Oscar Duarte, both of whom were doing well until they got caught by Ryan, and then it was history.
Haney’s problem is he can’t take a punch and falls apart when pressured hard. We saw that in the leaked sparring video of Gervonta Davis knocking him to the moon.
The fans that say that Haney wasn’t dropped, they fail to notice that Adrien Broner stepping in to protect him when Gervonta was going for the coup de grace.
Haney needed saving and Broner realized that, and ran interference for him when Tank was going for the kill. If you substitute Ryan instead of Tank, he would finish the job with his powerful left hook.
“I think Devin has the edge. I do love Ryan. He’s a California boy, but I’m not sure if Ryan will be able to pull the trigger and catch Devin in the midst of him trying to box and move around. It’s going to be a very interesting fight.
A 50-50 Fight with X-Factors
“I slightly take Devin as the victor, but I do think Ryan has a big chance to win it by catching him with a big left hook or a big punch because they do have a history with each other,” said Mosley. “They do know each other. It’s 50-50 in that sense. It’s very close.”
We will see Haney use the same game plan he did in his last fight against Regis Prograis. He’ll jab Ryan, trying to keep the action on the outside, and then step back three feet when he’s attacked.
Ryan must neutralize Haney’s jab because that’s his main weapon for winning fights. He has no power in his right or left hand, so he’s forced to use his long reach and jab to win his fights.
“We know in a boxing match, anything can happen, and this is the type of fight where Ryan can close his eyes and catch him with a left hook and get Devin when he’s slipping,” said Mosley.
“I also see that Devin has elevated by fighting these top fighters like Lomachenko and Kambosos. He looks much stronger at 140 like he’s more comfortable at this weight. Ryan looks a lot bigger, as well.
“On both sides, it’s an equal fight, and it’s a great fight, actually,” said Mosley about the Haney vs. Garcia bout.
