Bill Haney has revealed that Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia’s April 20th clash will take place in the 140-lb weight class without a catchweight or rehydration clause.
Haney is getting a free pass to rehydrate as much as possible without there being a rehydration limit to keep his weight in check, making him bigger and stronger than Ryan on the night of the fight.
Ryan Garcia and his promoters at Golden Boy Promotions are taking a big chance fighting Haney, a glorified super middleweight, without rehydration to prevent him from rehydrating to 165 lbs on the night of their fight and crushing him with size.
If the shoe was on the other foot and Ryan was the one rehydrating to 165, would Bill and Devin Haney agree to fight him without a strict rehydration clause to limit how much weight he could gain back?
What this Means
Having a rehydration clause would be a safeguard to keep things fair and to protect Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs), whose weight will likely be nowhere near the 160s on the night of the fight against Haney.
Devin has gotten a reputation on social media with his ability to add water weight after rehydrating for fights. Former unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman questioned whether Haney is using a “Liquid IV” to rapidly gain water weight after weighing in for his last fight against Prograis.
Obviously, 25 lbs is a lot of weight for a person to gain overnight just by drinking water from a glass. Haney would have been really pounding the water to gain 25 lbs.
That’s why if you’re Ryan Garcia, he should have insisted on a rehydration clause to prevent Haney’s weight from shooting to the moon, with him going from 140 to 165 or 170 for the fight.
Haney’s Size Advantage
Kingry is in a tough situation, facing a much larger Haney on the night of the fight and being outsized by a wide margin.
Ryan is already overmatched skill-wise for the April 20th fight, but if he faces a super middleweight or light heavyweight the night of the fight, as Regis Prograis did, he stands zero chance of winning.