Ryan Garcia can’t defeat a skilled fighter like Devin Haney on power alone tonight. Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) needs a good strategy to upend Haney (31-0, 15 KOs), and that strategy involves stealing the blueprint created by Vasily Lomachenko to send Devin to his first career defeat.
The pressure that Loma put on Haney took away his whole flow, leaving him looking traumatized at the end of the fight. Ryan fights the same way as Lomachenko, looking to suffocate with his pressure.
The only difference between them is Garcia possesses one-punch power in his left hand that can send Haney to Neptune if he lands cleanly. What Ryan can’t afford to do is hang on the ropes, fiddling with the shoulder roll that he used in his last fight against Oscar Duarte.
Lomachenko 101: How to Make Haney Look Ordinary
If Ryan hasn’t already borrowed from Lomachenko’s playbook, he needs to pull a cram session in his dressing room by studying what Loma used to dominate.
Lomachenko didn’t get the win with three Nevada judges giving the victory to Haney, but it’s obvious that Loma won. Devin looked rattled afterward.
The judges gifted Haney a win that night, viewing him as the winner and favoring his slippery, eel-like moves, but Lomachenko schooled him. The decision was booed loudly by the fans at ringside, and the ones on social media also had Loma as the clear winner.
So what should Ryan Garcia do? He must fight the same way, but he’s got a nuclear warhead in his left hand that Lomachenko was missing to take the judges out of play.
Ryan’s Cheat Sheet to Victory
- Don’t Jab, Get in Close Range: Devin likes to fight on the outside, throwing jabs from a safe distance to avoid getting nailed. Ryan needs to force Haney into a corner or up against the ropes and unload with his power shots. Make Haney nervous, and fall apart mentally.
- Use Quick Feet: Lomachenko used his quick feet to get to Haney, pursuing him around the ring to nail him with shots. Ryan has got to use his legs to cut off the ring on Haney, and not let him escape. Devin is used to being able to hit, run, and hold in his fights. Ryan can stop him from doing that by standing on top of him to pound the living daylights out of him.
- Target the Body Early, then Head: Garcia needs to throw to Haney’s body to wear him down, and then go upstairs for the knockout.