Former IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant is on Devin Haney’s side, believing that Ryan Garcia, coming in 3.2 lbs overweight at the weigh-in, was a “difference-maker” in their fight last Saturday night.
Plant doesn’t side with boxing fans, who point out that Haney (31-1, 15 KOs) usually has a huge size advantage over his opponents after rehydration.
He feels that it’s important that Haney did what he had to do to take off the weight to get to 140, whereas Ryan (25-1, 20 KOs) didn’t, and that gave him an advantage. He used that to defeat Haney by a 12-round majority decision in their fight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The Importance of Making Weight
“I think people disregard the weight and bring up that Devin is usually bigger than the guys that he fought, and they might have a point to that,” said Caleb Plant to Fighthype about the controversy over Ryan Garcia coming in 3.2 lbs overweight at the weigh-in and looking bigger, stronger, and faster than Devin Haney last Saturday night.
“Where you draw the line and you no longer have a point is Devin has always made weight. That’s important. It’s not the first 10 or 15 pounds you have to lose that is hard. It’s the last three, that’s the hardest part. It could have been a difference-maker, but who knows? I think Devin even said that.”
What Plant is skipping over is that Haney is naturally good at cutting water weight, and that helps him. He’s also forgetting how extreme Haney’s weight manipulation is. When you’ve got a fighter that is capable of cutting 25 lbs, it gives them an unfair advantage over their opposition, becaue they should NOT be fighting in that weight class.
If boxing had stricter regulations, every sanctioning body would have a 10-lb fight day rehydration limit to prevent fighters like Haney and others from rehydrating absurd amounts of weight to fight in divisions well below their frame. If the WBC had their act together, they would have a 10-lb rehydration limit like the IBF, preventing Haney from melting down from 165 lbs to compete at 140.
If the WBC had that rule, Haney wouldn’t be a champion in their organization. He would have to either move up to 147 or 154.
Call for a Rematch
“I think it would be cool for them to run it back and both make 140, because it was a hell of a fight. I thought it was a real good fight, too. I thought it was close, real close. It was a great night for boxing. So why not run it back and give another great night?” said Plant.
Ryan said he couldn’t fight at 140 any longer because he outgrew that division. So if there is going to be a rematch between Ryan and Haney, it will either have to happen at a catchweight above 140 or at 147 or higher. I don’t think Haney cares.
Hany just wants that payday, so he’ll fight Ryan at whatever weight he chooses. It’s all about the money with Haney, especially with him getting beaten up. He knows that if he fights any of the killers at 140, he’s going tog et similar treatment, but for far less money.
