Tim Bradley thinks it’s a stupid idea for Devin Haney to get a rematch with Ryan Garcia without taking a tune-up fight first to get back in shape after his loss last April.
It’s risky for Haney to jump right into a rematch with Ryan without making sure he can still land a shot without nosediving on the canvas, as he did repeatedly in his 12-round majority decision. against Garcia on April 20. If it weren’t for the mega-millions that Haney is putting at risk, taking a warm-up fight would be smart.
However, if Haney takes a tune-up, he could lose; if that happens, all the money he would have from the rematch with Garcia will be gone. There is no way to sell a second fight under these conditions.
Haney’s father, Bill Haney, recently seemed ready to arrange a rematch with Ryan until Kingry canceled that idea. He didn’t have to do it.
Bill gave Ryan a deadline of 48 hours to sign up for drug tests to make the ball, and who knows what other hoops he would have wanted him to jump through if he had accepted.
Naturally, Ryan did not make the idea to sign for the drug test, since there is still a lawsuit, it is still suspended until April 2025, and there is no signed contract.
Bill should have used a better strategy to tell Ryan that he would drop the process and discuss when they could fight again and at what weight. Given how huge both fighters are, 147 would be the logical weight, if not 154.
“I don’t think Devin Haney should go right into a rematch. I think that’s the stupidest thing. He’s making another mistake if he jumps right in and doesn’t try a new weight class at 147 or even try to make 140 again. I don’t know. I think it’s going to go up,” said Tim Bradley Probox TV about Devin Haney made a mistake if he wants Ryan Garcia when he returns from his suspension in 2025.
If Haney could handle the power of the welterweights, taking a tune-up would be the right thing for him. It doesn’t seem likely that he would do well to handle punches from fighters at 147. The fight against Ryan last April may have done something to Haney’s punch resistance, making him prone to injury. We don’t know. Taking a risky tune-up would be a bad way to find out.
“He’s got to have a fight in between before we even talk about a rematch with Ryan Garcia just to see where he’s at physically,” Bradley said.
Haney is not likely to take a tune-up because there is so much money he can make in the rematch with Ryan. It would be crazy for him to do it. If there was someone who had zero power, and was much smaller than Haney, getting a tune-up would make sense. I don’t think Haney wants to take the chance.
“I don’t think we’ll ever see one of these guys close to 140. Haney had a lot of trouble making 140 for that fight (with Garcia). He was really drained making that 140-lh limit,” said Chris Algieri on the last Haney’s April 20 fight against Ryan Garcia.
“Ryan looks like he’s going to campaign at 168 with the way he’s been walking recently. There’s no way he’s ever going below 147 again. If there’s a guy to fight, I think 147 would make sense. Ryan can roll out of bed, throw that left hook, and drop a horse.
“He doesn’t need a tune-up fight. He can come off a two-year ban or whatever and put on a big fight because he’s a talented guy. He’s got that.
If you’re Haney, you don’t want to do a tune-up because you might lose or look bad for winning. In order for Haney not to be criticized by the fans, he would need to fight a contender at 140 or 147.
