Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney could be closing in on shocking defeats on their May joint card in New York’s Times Square. Ryan (24-1, 20 KO) fights Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz while Haney (31-0, 15 KO) takes on former WBC/WBO 140-pound champion Jose Ramirez in the Turki Al-Sheikh card.
Impact of layoffs
Ryan and Haney picked the wrong opponents to fight after 13 months of layoffs. 2012 Olympian Jose Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) and former WBA light welterweight champion Pitbull Cruz are not the right opponents 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 had good punch resistance and could handle being hit in the attic, taking on Ramirez and Cruz wouldn’t be a big deal. This is not the case. They are both fragile fighters who were broken in battle.
Garcia-Cruz will be fought at a catchweight of 143 or 144 at welterweight, and that’s perfect 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 was hitting with more power.
Rayo likely would have been eliminated if he hadn’t used his new Lomachenko-style move to escape Cruz’s constant pressure. Kingry does not have the same movement capacity and he will be forced to fight for three minutes each round in close combat. If Ryan fails to hurt Pitbull, he will be in trouble.
50-50 fights
Turki treated fans to two great 50-50 fights with his Garcia-Cruz & Haney-Ramirez doubleheader in Times Square. If he’s OK with Ryan and Devin potentially losing their fights, that’s great. Al-Sheikh is already planning for Garcia-Haney to fight a rematch in October in Riyadh. This fight will be tarnished if one or both lose their focus in May.
It’s a better deal for PPV fans than if these two were fed cans of tomatoes, as is customary for wealthy top fighters who endure extended layoffs.
Jose Ramirez lost to undefeated, highly ranked light welterweight contender Arnold Barboza Jr. by 10-round unanimous decision on November 16. This fight was competitive.
If Barboza Jr. had been stationary, he wouldn’t have won because Ramirez worked him when he was in the pocket. Devin doesn’t have the same evasive style as Barboza, nor does he own his power. He won’t be able to do the same things he did to fight Ramirez.