Eddie Hearn wanted to reweigh Ryan Garcia on Saturday morning but chose against it
Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn regrets not enforcing a reweigh for Ryan Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) after he came in heavy for the weigh-in against Devin Haney (31-1, 15 KOs).
Last Saturday, April 20, underdog Garcia scored an upset victory over his former amateur rival, clinching a majority decision at the Barclays Center, New York, after flooring Haney three times.
However, the 25-year-old Californian was unable to win Haney’s WBC title because he had weighed 3lbs above the 140lbs limit the day before.
Speaking to Boxing News, Hearn, who promotes Haney on a fight-by-fight basis, said, “From Matchroom’s side, we felt there should have been a reweigh on Saturday. It was chosen not to be pushed, and I feel that [was a] mistake.
“But, I also understand that Devin rehydrates to massive numbers. But it’s got nothing to do with Devin.
“Maybe Ryan Garcia was the type of guy that would’ve just walked away, and gone: ‘don’t worry about it, I won’t fight.’ I’m sure that was a concern for Bill [Haney].
“Of course the financial penalty was there, but Bill probably also felt: ‘we don’t really want to reweigh either’. But you shouldn’t have to, because Ryan’s the guy that missed the weight.”
With Haney having made the super lightweight limit, it was clear that Garcia possessed a significant size advantage over him.
It was Haney’s second bout at 140lbs, with most of his notable wins – against the likes of Vasily Lomachenko – coming down at lightweight, where he was the undisputed champion.
However, with just 5lbs between the two divisions, it is fair to say that neither fighter was faced with an easy task when it came to making weight.
A reweigh on Saturday morning would have prevented Garcia from rehydrating to the levels that he did, potentially resulting in a different outcome when the pair stepped into the ring on fight night.
