Ryan Garcia weighed in over three pounds above the 140-pound limit for his championship bout against WBC titleholder Devin Haney, making him ineligible to win the super lightweight title and costing him $500,000 per pound as per their agreement.
Ryan Garcia’s got a problem. He’s tipped the scales a bit too far.
Dan Rafael, a seasoned boxing reporter, dropped the news on Friday. Garcia’s weight was over three pounds more than the 140-pound limit for his championship fight. His opponent? WBC titleholder Devin Haney. The venue? Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The date? This Saturday.
Garcia’s been acting a bit off lately. Erratic, even. So much so, people started wondering if the fight would happen at all.
A tweet from Rafael confirmed the weight issue. “Ryan Garcia is indeed waaaay overweight for the fight. He scales 143.2 pounds, per source in the room. He will not be eligible to win the WBC 140 title. Sides negotiating how to move forward. Absolute disaster and absolutely expected. #boxing #HaneyGarcia” – Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) April 19, 2024.
143.2 pounds. That’s what Garcia weighed in at. This makes him ineligible for the super lightweight title. But wait, there’s more.
At a press conference on Thursday, Garcia and Haney made a deal. If either missed weight, they’d pay the other $500,000 per pound. Ouch.
They shook on it. And when Garcia missed weight, Haney confirmed on social media that Garcia kept his word. “Ryan honored the 500k per pound..” – Devin Haney (@Realdevinhaney) April 19, 2024.
Golden Boy Promotions had something to say about all this. They released a statement. The fight’s still on. Garcia’s paid Haney what he owes for missing weight.
“Ryan has weighed in over his contractual weight. He will honor the handshake made at the final press conference yesterday. We have a fight.”
So, despite the hiccup, the fight’s still on. Let’s see how this plays out.