Devin Haney again in highlight in opposition to Ryan Garcia in NYC

FIGHT WEEK

Pound-for-pounder Devin Haney is scheduled to defend his 140-pound title in opposition to Ryan Garcia on pay-per-view Saturday in Brooklyn.

DEVIN HANEY (31-0, 15 KOs)VS. RYAN GARCIA (24-1, 20 KOs)

Date: Saturday, April 20
Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT (important occasion later in present)
The place: Barclays Heart, Brooklyn, New York
TV/Stream: Pay-per-view
Division: Junior welterweight (140 kilos)
At stake: Haney’s WBC title
Boxing Junkie Pound-for-pound: Haney No. 10
Odds: Haney 6½-1 favourite (common of a number of shops)
Significance (as much as 5 stars): *****
Additionally on the cardboard: Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. Sean McComb, junior welterweights; Bektemir Melikuziev vs. Pierre Dibombe, tremendous middleweights; John Ramirez vs. David Jimenez, junior bantamweights; Charles Conwell vs. Nathaniel Gallimore, junior middleweights; Sergiy Derevyanchenko vs. Vaughn Alexander, tremendous middleweights
Background: Haney is likely one of the quickest rising stars on this planet. The 25-year-old from San Francisco has climbed to the top of the game with one important victory after one other within the 135- and 140-pound divisions over the previous half decade. He defeated in succession Yuriorkis Gamboa, Jorge Linares, Joseph Diaz Jr., George Kambosos Jr. (the primary of two consecutive fights for the undisputed 135-pound championship), Vasiliy Lomachenko and Regis Prograis (to win his 140-pound belt). Haney has solely common punching energy — none of these victories got here by knockout — however his talent set and ring acumen rival that of anybody on the planet, as he demonstrated in his good shutout of Prograis in December. Garcia, additionally 25, is an effective, quick-handed boxer with elite energy however is finest recognized for a brutal loss to Gervonta Davis and as a social media star who has been open about his psychological well being points. He constructed appreciable momentum within the ring in 2021 and 2022, stopping Luke Campbell, outpointing Emmanuel Tagoe and knocking out Javier Fortuna. Then, in April of final yr, Davis stopped him with a physique shot within the seventh spherical of their tremendous struggle. Garcia moved down from 140 to a catchweight of 136 for the struggle. He rebounded from the loss to cease Oscar Duarte in eight rounds in December. The Haney-Garcia struggle is going down in New York although each fighters are initially from California.

ALSO FIGHTING THIS WEEK

FRIDAY

Kurt Scoby vs. Dakota Linger; junior welterweights, Atlanta (DAZN)

SATURDAY

Cain Sandoval vs. Angel Rebollar, junior welterweights, Commerce, California (UFC Battle Go)
Juergen Uldedaj vs. Damir Beljo, cruiserweights, Munich, Germany (DAZN)