Former world champion Paulie Malignaggi criticized Ryan Garcia today, saying that when “he is not doping, he is not fast” or strong.
Malignaggi is not impressed with Ryan’s ability. He notes that he suddenly developed an increase in power five years ago when he knocked out Romero Duno in the first round in 2019 with a punch that barely connected to the top of his head.
Paulie feels that Ryan’s speed, power and conditioning improvements were due to PED use. The 26-year-old Garcia recently tested positive for the banned performance-enhancing drug Ostarine following his 12-time majority decision win over Devin Haney on April 20 in Brooklyn, New York.
Former two-division world champion Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) was the oddsmakers’ favorite going into the fight with Garcia, but he was hurt almost immediately in the first round by a left hook.
From there, it was all downhill for Haney, with Ryan dropping him in rounds 7, 10 and 11 with powerful left hooks.
“Ryan Garcia, when he’s not doping, he’s not fast, he’s not strong, he’s not conditioned, and he’s not even good,” said Paulie Malignaggi to Probox TVtrashing Ryan Garcia. “I have been suspicious of Ryan Garcia’s doping since probably the (Romero) Duno fight (November 2, 2019).
Some fans on social media believe Malignaggi is bitter about what Ryan did to Haney, a fighter with a finesse style similar to the one he used during his career. Watching Ryan massacre Haney might be hard for Malignaggi to accept.
Ryan cracked the Haney code so easily with his left hook smash. Was it an ego hit for Malignaggi watching Haney understand so quickly from Ryan, who had him on skates in the first round from a thunderous left hook that connected to the side of his head?
“The Duno fight, I saw the knockout. I didn’t say, ‘Oh, this guy is definitely doping,’ because you can never really tell that,” said Malignaggi about the first-round victory for Ryan over Romero Duno. “But there was a certain kind of sudden power in Ryan Garcia’s career. It was drastic. It wasn’t, ‘He’s kind of strong.’ He was making arrests.”
Malignaggi didn’t follow Ryan’s career closely before his fight with Duno, but he had defeated many of his opponents in the early rounds. Before fighting Duno, Ryan had five 1st round knockouts and six 2nd round knockouts. When a fighter knocks out their opponents in the first two rounds at such a clip, it suggests they have major power.
Ryan didn’t suddenly start knocking out opponents when he fought Romero Duno. He had done it all along, but the only difference was that he got more attention from that win because the contest got a lot of publicity.
“But the Duno fight where you hit a guy hard, and you barely hit him in the top of the head, and one leg was going one way, and the other leg was going the other way, and he got knocked into the first round. I was like, ‘This guy has never fought like that,'” Malignaggi said.
If Ryan beats Haney in the rematch, Malignaggi may change his tune on him, as long as he tests negative for PEDs. While Ryan comes out negative on his tests before and after the fight, Malignaggi can jump on board and become one of his true believers.
It’s unclear if Ryan and Haney will ever fight again. Haney has a lawsuit against Ryan, which may result in a rematch that never happens. Also, if someone like Jack Catterall beats Haney by KO, there will be no point in Ryan fighting again because he will be seen as damaged goods. There will be more fan interest in a fight between Ryan and Catterall.
