Former world champion Tim Bradley is worried about the fragile mental state of Ryan Garcia as he heads into his fight this Saturday night against Devin Haney in Brooklyn, New York.
Bradley notes that a couple of weeks ago, noted that Ryan was showing signs of psychological problems that fans were talking about because he was acting wacky.
Tim feels that with Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) draining down to make weight this week, he’s going to be weakened.
He thinks that once Ryan weighs in and starts eating, he’s going to start worrying about his fight with Haney (31-0, 15 KOs). Bradley feels that Ryan won’t be able to handle the stress on the night of the fight.
Tim doesn’t say what he believes Ryan is capable of doing based on his stress, aside from losing badly, which everyone already thinks he will. The only thing that would be different is Ryan not showing up for the fight or running out of the ring.
Many boxing fans expect Ryan to quit when it gets tough, and Haney begins dominating. He’ll take a knee like he did against Gervonta Davis and be counted out. He’ll then jump to his feet and walk to his corner, go home, and collect his fat paycheck.
Worrisome Signs of Instability
“A couple of weeks ago, we were saying, ‘Something is not right. Something is wrong upstairs.’ We didn’t know where he was psychologically because he was all over the place. We were worried about that,” said Tim Bradley to the Probox TV YouTube channel talking about Ryan Garcia.
Ryan is still acting very strange this week. His oddball behavior didn’t go away. It’s changed form with him talking about all kinds of stuff and acting like he’s not focused on the actual fight.
Ryan just seems like a guy that doesn’t care. His behavior isn’t even like a fighter. It’s like some kid on vacation and enjoying himself. That’s bad for the fans who are purchasing his fight against Haney on DAZN PPV becaue they’re not going to get value for their $69.99.
The undercard is pure trash, and the people who order the event will be doing it just for the main event, which looks like it’s going to be a walk in the park for Haney.
False Confidence or a Desperate Facade?
“I’ve been seeing videos of him talking trash and kind of exuding confidence in the lead-up to this fight,” said Bradley. “I think it’s false. The week of the fight when you’re making weight, draining yourself down, you’re at your weakest point.”
Bradley is right. Ryan looks like he’s faking confidence and that he really doesn’t believe he’s going to win. If he did think he was going to win, he’d be working hard and showing interest in the fight instead of talking about other things.
“You’re at your weakest point physically and you’re at your weakest point mentally because you’re not feeling well,” said Bradley. “Once you get on that scale [for the weigh-in] and you start to get some food in you and them demons start to creep in.
Weight Cut and the Demons of Self-Doubt
“When I’m talking about demons, I’m talking about self-doubt. That’s what starts to creep up. Devin Haney, he has that on lock, whereas Ryan, I don’t trust his psyche, I really don’t.”
I don’t think Ryan is going to be worried at all because I get the impression that he just wants the payday, and he knows he can’t win. He’s going to sleep like a baby the night before the fight, that’s if he’s not partying it up, enjoying himself.
“Right now, it’s some sort of facade, and he’s trying to pump himself up,” said Bradley. “But as soon as he puts his foot on them scales and he goes back to that room, and he goes sleep at time or attempts to go to sleep at night, and those demons start to creep up, he’s going to weaken.”
Maybe if Ryan had worked his way into this fight by beating guys like Richardson Hitchins, Gary Antuanne Russell, and Arnold Barboza, he’d have more self-belief and would be locked in. He hasn’t done that. Ryan only fought once at 140 after his loss to Gervonta Davis, and that was against a fringe lightweight contender Oscar Duarte.
“When he gets in that ring and starts feeling that heat, I feel with his mental state, he’s going to fold under that pressure,” said Bradley about Ryan.