Whether you feel the fight should be going ahead or not, whether you give Ryan Garcia a shot at winning or not, and whether you actually fear for Garcia’s well-being going into his fight with Devin Haney or not, we are now just hours away from the first bell, live on DAZN PPV. And after one of the wildest, one of the most at times disturbing build-ups ever seen, with Garcia really acting strange, we simply do not know what to expect to see tonight in New York.
Garcia – who reportedly underwent a mental health evaluation shortly before tonight’s fight, and passed – has taken to social media (we think) one last time prior to the fight. And Garcia, who as we all know failed to make weight by some margin at 143.2 pounds, has appealed to his fans “not to be scared” by what they see in the ring tonight.
“Don’t be scared from what you witness tonight,” Garcia wrote. “I’m not talking about me doing something to get DQ. Pure boxing. This is WAR. Kill Or Kill, Nothing Else. See you at the fights. This would be an event like you never seen before. Next tweet will come soon after the fight.”
It has of course been suggested by numerous people that Garcia, as unhinged as he really has appeared to be in the run-up to tonight’s fight, might do something crazy during the bout, especially if he begins to feel frustrated and is losing the fight, with him being outboxed and outclassed by Haney. And some have expressed concern Garcia may indeed get himself disqualified on purpose, either for hitting after the bell, or by using illegal punches, or even by biting Haney (Garcia has actually said more than once that he is prepared to bite Haney).
Now, Garcia has tweeted saying he will not do anything to get himself DQ’d on purpose. But can we really take anything Garcia says seriously at this stage? Again, plenty of people feel tonight’s fight should not be going ahead, that those close to Garcia cannot fail to see that he is not acting anything like his usual self, and that he should be protected and looked after.
But if Garcia’s own family, along with his trainer and his manager and his promotional team, are not willing to take a stand and pull him out of the fight, then what can anybody else do? Sure, the New York Commission could step in and postpone the fight, but this is not going to happen. Dan Rafael, who spoke with IFL TV, said the dollar signs are all that really matter and this is why the fight is going ahead. It’s tough to disagree.
It would of course be awful if Garcia did have some sort of episode in the ring tonight, and people have been thinking about Oliver McCall and his infamous ring meltdown back in 1997 in his rematch with Lennox Lewis. There was no way McCall should have been in the ring that night, and you could for sure argue it’s exactly the same with Garcia. Ask yourself, if Garcia was a family member or a dear friend of yours, would YOU be happy seeing him go ahead with tonight’s fight?
Garcia may quit on his stool if he doesn’t get a quick win, this is according to Eddie Hearn and others. While other people fear Garcia will do something, for want of a better word, nuts some time during the fight if it’s not going his way, or even if it IS going his way. There could be a powder-keg waiting to explode tonight. Above all else, let’s hope both fighters come out safe and healthy.
Garcia sure has got plenty of people worrying about him right now. Have we ever actually seen a fight promotion quite like this one? No, and we don’t want to see one like this again, either. The sport of boxing will be under quite incredible scrutiny tonight.
