Ryan Garcia fined by Devin Haney for missing weight
After a eyebrow-raising build-up, there was a sense of inevitable controversy during the Haney-Garcia fight week, and it appears as though it has all come at the weigh-in rather than on fight night.
Both men have been critiqued as to whether they can make 140lbs in the past, but it is Garcia who has relatively unsurprisingly come in ill-prepared, putting the fight in jeopardy.
The troubled Californian has posted tweets about smoking marijuana, faked his own death on Instagram and has clearly not been 100% focussed on what would be his first world title challenge, so much so that fans have questioned whether the fight should be permitted to go ahead, as a result of concerns for his mental wellbeing.
Reports have now broken on the eve of the mega-fight that Garcia has hit the pre-ceremonial scales at a massive 3.2lbs over the super-lightweight limit, meaning that Devin Haney’s WBC super-lightweight title will not be on the line, if the fight actually goes ahead.
‼️ Ryan Garcia has come in 3.2lbs overweight at 143.2lbs for his fight vs Devin Haney tomorrow night. Haney made weight at 140lbs. Camps now renegotiating a deal for the fight to proceed, but Garcia will be unable to win Haney's WBC super-lightweight world title. [@DanRafael1]
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) April 19, 2024
“Ryan Garcia has come in 3.2lbs overweight at 143.2lbs for his fight vs Devin Haney tomorrow night. Haney made weight at 140lbs. Camps now renegotiating a deal for the fight to proceed, but Garcia will be unable to win Haney’s WBC super-lightweight world title.”
However, it appears as though Haney and his team will still take ‘King Ry’ on tomorrow night, instead forcing the challenger to cough up the $500,000 per pound overweight that was agreed at yesterday’s press conference.
“Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia WILL still go ahead tomorrow night, despite Garcia coming in 3.2lbs overweight, as the camps have agreed a deal. Haney has said that Garcia honoured their press conference bet and will pay him $500,000 per pound overweight (a total of $1.5million).”
Meanwhile, Haney will likely bulk up overnight once again, just as he did for his 140lb debut against Prograis, but it will come as no surprise if his fierce rival weighs similar to the champion on fight night.