Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney may be coming off upset losses on their joint May card in New York's Times Square. Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) fights Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz while Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) faces former WBC/WBO champion Jose Ramirez on Turki Al Sheikh’s card.
The effect of demobilization
Ryan and Haney picked the wrong opponents to fight after 13-month layoffs. 2012 Olympian Jose Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) and former WBA light welterweight champion Pitbull Cruz are not the right opponents for any fighter to face after a year of inactivity. These two would be a nightmare for Garcia and Devin, even if they were active.
If Kingry and Haney have good punch resistance and can handle a hit to the breadbasket, a Ramirez vs. Cruz matchup wouldn't be a big deal. This is not the case. They are both fragile fighters who have been broken in battle.
Garcia Cruz will compete at 143 or 144 at welterweight, which is ideal for the powerful 5'4″ Cruz (26-3-1, 18 KOs). In Pitbull's two fights at 140 against Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela and Rolando “Rolly” Romero, he hit harder.
Rayo likely would have been fired had he not used his new Lomachenko-like movement to avoid constant pressure from Cruz. Kingry doesn't have the same mobility, and will have to fight for three minutes of each round in close quarters. If Ryan fails to hurt the pitbull, he will be in trouble.
50-50 fights
Turki gave the fans two great 50-50 matches with his Garcia-Cruz and Hani-Ramirez doubleheader in Times Square. If he's okay with Ryan and Devin potentially losing their fights, then great. Al-Sheikh is already planning a rematch between Garcia and Hani in October in Riyadh. This fight will be tarnished if one or both lose their catches in May.
That's a better deal for fans on PPV than if these two were fed cans of tomatoes, as is the custom for high-profile wealthy fighters who suffer long layoffs.
Jose Ramirez lost to highly ranked light welterweight contender Arnold Barboza Jr. by 10-round unanimous decision on November 16. That fight was competitive.
If Barboza Jr. had been consistent, he wouldn't have won because Ramirez pressured him when he was in the pocket. Devin doesn't have the same dribbling style as Barboza, nor does he have his power. He won't be able to do the same things he did to fight Ramirez.
