Henry Garcia says he doesn’t think Devin Haney is ready “psychologically” for a fight against Jose Ramirez in May in their undercard fight at Times Square in New York City.
Garcia thinks it’ll be bad for Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) if the former WBC and WBO light welterweight champion Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) drops him because he’s a tough “Latino” fighter. The 2012 Olympian has only lost twice in the pro ranks to a prime Josh Taylor and Arnold Barboza Jr.
Henry’s son, Ryan Garcia, inflicted a beating on Haney last April, dropping him three times and hurting him with big shots many other times in their fight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Coming back from that loss to go straight into a hard fight against Ramirez, this could be trouble.
Ramirez lost his last fight to Barboza Jr., but that was a 10-rounder that could have had a different result if there were a couple of more rounds. Jose was coming back in the championship rounds, nailing Barboza Jr. with shots that would likely drop Haney.
Ramirez Threat
“That part is true,” said Henry Garcia to MillCity Boxing about Devin Haney needing to fight Jose Ramirez first before he’d get a crack at Ryan Garcia. “We’re trying to hash everything out, doing it the right way. Let’s just scratch everything that happened. We’re going to do it right. You concentrate on Jose Ramirez, and we’ll concentrate on Rolly,” said Henry about Haney needing to drop the lawsuit for him to have a chance at fighting Ryan in a rematch.
“It was Pitbull at first [for Garcia], but he decided to go into that other fight [Angel Fierro], so now it’s all about Rolly.
“If I was him, I’d be careful because Jose Ramirez is Latino, and you know how Latinos are. They don’t play,” said Henry about Haney’s next fight against former unified light welterweight champion Ramirez in May. “If he was fighting Duarte, I would say, ‘You better step down because Duarte is no joke,’ but Jose Ramirez is no joke either.”
Ramirez’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, says that Haney must defeat his fighter for him to get the rematch against Ryan in October. If that’s true, Devin is going to be worried sick going into this fight because he’s got so much to lose. It’s unclear what Ramirez stands to gain if he’s victorious against Haney. That would be interesting if Turki Al-Sheikh allowed him to be the one that fights Ryan while Haney is left on the side of the road, just unwanted baggage.
“I’m telling you, the guy is no pushover. I’ve seen the guy fight. I’ve seen him work out a few times. He’s out there. He’s going to give Haney a run for his money. I’m telling you. He’s going to be on him,” continued Henry about Ramirez being a problem for Devin.
Surprisingly, Haney agreed to fight Jose Ramirez, but perhaps he didn’t have a choice. It could have been worse. He could have been forced to fight Ernesto Mercado, who, due to his size, power, and youth, would have been lethal to Haney.
There’s a very good chance Haney will lose to Ramirez, and it’s going to foul up Turki’s plans for those two to fight a rematch in October. Oh well, if Devin can’t pass the Ramirez test, he doesn’t belong inside the same ring with Ryan.
Mental Game
“I hope Haney is ready for it. I’m sure his dad [Bill] has done his research about Jose Ramirez, but they don’t know the fighter he is. I do, and I’m telling you. There’s no turning back now [Haney having second thoughts]. I will say this. If Jose Ramirez cracks him, I’m worried for Haney because, psychologically, I don’t think he’s ready for it for something like that,” said Henry Garcia.
Mentally, Haney may be a basket case after what he went through in his loss to Ryan, and his confidence and chin have been impaired. If Devin believed in himself, he would have fought already instead of sitting out of the ring for an entire year.
“If he gets dropped, it’s going to mess him up. Again, Jose is no pushover. If he catches him and drops him, that’s going to go bad for Haney. That’s the truth,” said Henry.
“That rematch [Garcia vs. Haney]. You seen Ryan last year, and everybody was like, ‘Wow, what’s happening? The only thing I wasn’t crazy about was the drinking. Bro, he drinks more water than anything. My son is focused, and that means danger now,” said Henry about Ryan being dialed in for his next fight in May against Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero.
“I’m not kidding. I can only say that. Be careful because he’s very focused on what he’s going to do. You’ll probably see it with Rolly first. Then you’ll see it with Haney. Right now, I’m really happy with Ryan and his approach and everything,” said Henry.
Haney can’t be too confident that he’s going to win the rematch. He’s likely hoping that he can block Ryan’s left hook and outbox him the way he did Regis Prograis. Ryan’s right hand is powerful too, so Devin can’t just focus on taking one of his weapons away.
