Ryan Garcia remained upbeat today despite missing weight by 3.2 lbs at the weigh-in for his fight against WBC light welterweight champion Devin Haney at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) will surrender a painful $1.5 million of his purse due to his $500K per pound bet with sly, wheeler, and dealer Haney (31-0, 15 KOs), who weaseled a little more purse money for his title defense on DAZN PPV.
Haney’s Title Holds Little Value
Ryan let his followers know that his missing weight is not a big deal, that he’s coming to win, and it doesn’t matter that he can’t capture Haney’s WBC belt. Garcia says that “belts don’t feed your family,” and he’s right.
Haney’s WBC title is just a trinket and doesn’t translate to popularity. If the WBC did have value, Devin’s last fight against Regis Prograis would have drawn more PPV buys than the woeful 50K, and he would have sold out the Chase Center in San Francisco instead of having to give away complimentary tickets because the tickets didn’t sell.
In this era of boxing, titles have become meaningless. What’s more important is selling tickets, having an entertaining fighting style, PPV buys, and having a huge social media following. Ryan checks all the boxes with these things.
Unfortunately, Haney is deficient in all of these categories, making him just one of the many belt-holders who can’t sell tickets or attract PPV buys.
Ryan: “We’re Leaving With His head”
“Three pounds is nothing; stop crying,” Ryan Garcia said on X about his coming in overweight at the weigh-in. I feel great, and I got a 3-pound advantage. Winners do what they have to do. I’m still sharp. Belts don’t feed your family.
“We’re leaving with his head. Why would I force myself to make weight so I can be weak? Nah, I’m here to win,” Ryan said, making it clear that it’s not a big deal that he came in overweight. [My] back gained too much muscle from carrying the promo.”
The Fight Still Matters
Ryan giving up $1.5 million adds to the drama of the fight, but the match is still an interesting one with meaning. If Ryan wins, his financial stock will rise big time, and the $1.5M that he’s surrendered will be just a trifle. If Ryan wins on Saturday, he’ll have his choice of who to fight next, and he’ll make huge cash. Haney’s career will be in the dumps, having to start over.
The WBC belt is a useless strap that means nothing. Titles only have meaning if they’re held by popular fighters. If you’re not popular like Haney, you’re ignored by fans, and the only time they pay attention to you is when you fight someone like Ryan Garcia.
Other Weights:
Arnold Barboza Jr. 139.4 vs. Sean McComb 139.4
Bektemir Melikuziev 167.8 vS. Pierre DiBombe 166.6
John “Scrappy” Ramirez 114.2 vs. David Jimenez 114.8
Charles Conwell 153 vs. Nathaniel Gallimore 153
Sergiy Derevyanchenko 167.4 vs. Vaughn Alexander 167.4
Darius Fulghum 167.4 vs. Cristian Olivas 167.4
Jonathan Cañas 137.6 vs. Markus Bowes 140
