Tim Bradley says Devin Haney would have beaten Ryan Garcia if he had kept his right hand up during their fight on April 20th. Bradley notes that Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) kept his hand down and was fighting with emotions.
Tim felt that Haney should have boxed Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs), especially after he was dropped in the seventh. He was trying to slug with Garcia after that, making it easier for him to continue to land his thunderous left hook.
Garcia dropped Haney three times in the fight and won a 12-round majority decision at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The victory has permanently burst the bubble of Haney being the next Mayweather, putting his career on shaky ground.
It was known before the fight that he had a fragile chin, but after being repeatedly floored by Ryan’s whip-like left hook, it’s now obvious that he can’t take a punch.
“All Devin had to do was hold the phone. He was winning most of the fight,” said Tim Bradley to GHBTV about Devin Haney only needing to get his defensive mechanics right for him to have beaten Ryan Garcia last April.
Haney’s problems that led to him getting dropped weren’t entirely related to him not keeping his right hand up. The real issue was from the clinching that he was attempting, which put him in firing range of Ryan’s short left hook. He was catching Haney with that punch while he was trying to clinch.
“He was winning most of the exchanges in the fight,” said Bradley. “He was jabbing, he was moving, looking good, but he kept dropping that right hand. Ryan is extremely gifted at shooting that left hook. He shoots it out of nowhere. It’s automatic for him. Obviously, Devin Haney didn’t train for it. If he would have kept that backhand up, he would have won the fight.”
Given how fast and powerful Ryan’s left hook was in that fight, Haney would have had to do the impossible by preventing him from landing any punches. Haney could have followed Bradley’s recommendations of keeping his guard up, boxing, and staying on the outside. It wouldn’t have worked unless he only jabbed and moved for 12 rounds.
I don’t think he could have done that because he had put on so much weight after rehydrating. He looked like a super middleweight inside the ring. Haney wouldn’t have been able to move continuously being as heavy as he was.
“He was outboxing him in spots where he wouldn’t get caught or get knocked down. Devin was like, ‘I’m going to fight him’ rather than boxing him. He should have just boxed him. Keep his wits. Stay out of his emotions. I was thinking, ‘Why is this dude standing in front of this puncher? He needs to move.’ He didn’t need to step to this dude. Use his legs and set him up,” said Bradley.
Haney had to fight because Ryan was getting to him so quickly, and he did an excellent jab of countering his power shots.
“Ryan didn’t have to drain himself down to those last three pounds, and I feel that was the advantage he had over Haney in the fight. He was fully strong. He didn’t deplete his body like Haney did,” said Bradley.
It wouldn’t have been a big deal if Haney had agreed to fight Ryan at 147 rather than at 140 because he wouldn’t have had to deplete his body to get down in weight. If weight was the reason why Ryan won, Haney should have agreed to fight him at welterweight. He would have been strong, making 147. and maybe he wouldn’t have fallen apart.
