WBC lightweight champion Devin ‘The Dream’ Haney fired back at Ryan Garcia today in retaliation to his comments he made last Saturday night about how he would have knocked him out if it had been him he was facing instead of Jorge Linares.
Devin criticized Ryan Garcia today on Twitter, calling him a “Coward” and say that he ducked him, Linares, and Javier Fortuna. Ryan (21-0, 18 KOs) was scheduled to fight Fortuna on July 9th but had to pull out due to mental health issues that sprang up.
Last Saturday, Ryan said would have “slept” Haney in reacting to how Linares had badly hurt him with a right hand. The shot that Linares wobbled Haney with didn’t look like it had a lot of power on it.
Linares was throwing a sustained six-punch combination, and he caught Haney with a right hand that shook him from his boots.
It’s a testament to Linares’ power that he was able to hurt Haney while not loading up with full power. That could indicate that Haney’s chin isn’t as good as many previously thought it was.
We already saw from watching the fight that Haney’s power wasn’t awe-inspiring, especially in the championship rounds. Haney lost his power and his speed and had nothing to hold Linares off.
Haney (26-0, 15 KOs) was genuinely hurt by the former three-division world champion Linares (47-6, 29 KOs) in the 10th round, and the only way he could prevent from being knocked out was to hold continually for the 11th and 12th.
Although Haneys’s promoter Eddie Hearn maintains that he had recovered by the 11th round, that wasn’t the case.
Haney still looked like his legs were gone in the 12th, and he wasn’t willing to even try to exchange with Linares, who was on a seek & destroy mission.
Haney says Ryan Garcia avoids challenges
“Ryan Garcia is the true definition of a coward… a few weeks ago he wanted sympathy because he was having “Mental Health issues” this week he talking sh*t about me… it’s funny how he came out after Javier Fortuna found another opponent,” said Devin Haney on Twitter on Tuesday.
“& if Luke Campbell dropped you, what would have Linares have done to you? & let’s be real, you never wanted to fight Linares you ducked him as you ducked me,” said Haney to Ryan Garcia.
Is it a coincidence that Ryan Garcia’s mental health issues popped up when he was scheduled to face Javier Fortuna? It does look a little strange that Ryan keeps talking about wanting to fight the top guys but then never fights any of them.
Hearn: Haney is ready for the top fighters
“It was a wonderful performance,” said Eddie Hearn to Fighthub on Haney’s win over Linares.
“One judge basically gave Devin every round until the ninth, and the others judge gave him one round, which he was for nine rounds. It was a masterclass.
“He got buzzed in the 10th and had to recover. It was a good learning experience for him [Haney]. Don’t forget it was the same guy that dropped Vasily Lomachenko.
“Linares can punch very hard. It was a great performance. I think that age doesn’t really matter because you are where you are, but he is 22.
“Show me another fighter at age 22 that is as talented as Devin Haney. I thought it was a great win, a great learning experience.
“I think he’s ready for all the big boys. You can get buzzed by Jorge Linares. He punches very hard, and he’s very fast, and he’s quite sharp.
“Actually, it’s kind of strange because Devin took some big shots in that fight and wasn’t buzzed at all, and then he took a great right hand at the end of the 10th.
“All fighters say they weren’t hurt, but he was buzzed, and he went back and recovered. I have no problem with it.
“The 11th was a bit shaky, and the 12th, I thought he had his feet back under him, and I thought it was a really good performance against a really fired up and motivated Jorge Linares,” said Hearn.
No, this writer doesn’t think Haney is ready for the top fighters at 135. At this point, Haney will lose to Teofimo badly. As coach Robert Garcia said after watching his fight with Linares, Haney is the fifth-best lightweight.
Haney loses to these fighters:
- Teofimo Lopez
- Ryan Garcia
- Vasily Lomachenko
- Gervonta Davis
Eddie denies Devin got exposed
“If that’s the case, what happened with Vasily Lomachenko got hurt by Jorge Linares?” said Hearn when told that a lot of boxing fans said Haney got exposed by Linares.
“What, he got exposed? Fighters can get hurt all the time, especially when you’re fighting a fast, strong puncher like Linares.
“I think there were plenty of times in the fight where Devin probably traded up a little too much because he was getting excited and wanted to get him out of there.
“He ate some big left hooks at times when they traded. So there’s nothing wrong with Devin Haney’s chin, but when you’re fighting an elite fighter that can punch like Linares, sometimes you get buzzed,” said Hearn.
It’s hard not to say that Linares exposed Haney because it sure did seem that way. When you get hurt the way Haney did and are forced to clinch nonstop for the final two rounds, that means you got exposed.
Haney’s lack of punching power is a bigger problem that will potentially hinder him as he moves forward to face Teofimo Lopez, Gervonta Davis, and Ryan Garcia.
Haney doesn’t hit hard enough for him to keep those guys off him, and if he can’t hurt those fighters, they’re going to land their shots on him. All three of them have one-punch knockout power, and they’re not old like Linares.
Hearn will have to think hard before throwing Haney in with Teofimo Lopez because it doesn’t look like he’s ready right now. Hearn says he believes that Haney will continue to get stronger gets older, but that may not be the case.
If Haney does fight Teofimo, he’s going t need to stay on the outside the entire time, throwing nothing but jabs because he doesn’t have the stamina, chin, or the power to battle Teofimo in the same way he did Linares.
Heck, Haney didn’t have the tools to beat Linares fighting the way he did, which is why he was hurt and forced to clinch in the 11th and 12th. If Linares had the presence of mind to fight through the clinches, he probably would have stopped Haney.
