Haney - Garcia Fight Week, Adrien Broner vs. Blair Cobbs Confirmed, Barrios Return Announced!

We've finally arrived at fight week for Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia. The two men are ready to perform on the biggest stage of all, for the WBC Super-Lightweight World Championship.

The combat sports community has been divided on the status of Ryan Garcia. Since the beginning of the fight's press run, Garcia has exhibited several problems. Physically, “King” Ryan looked withdrawn, tired, and to some, weight troubled. His speech was slurred, which gave Haney more fuel for the fire when it was his turn on the microphone.

He questioned if Garcia was using any drugs or drinking, which became a recurring theme throughout their encounters in person and online. At one point, the fans even began to suggest that Garcia was abusing cocaine, a theory that also took on a life of its own.

Garcia was left with no choice but to acknowledge his opponent- with conspiracy theories of his own. Garcia took to Twitter to discuss with the world the recent happenings. Apparently, Garcia was kidnapped and watched some interesting things take place in a forest.

Haney wasn’t deterred by any of Garcia's antics on social media, but it gained a considerable amount of traction worldwide. The global boxing scene sent out waves of reasons why Garcia would post such things, from hallucinations due to drug abuse to using wild stories as a way to build hype for the fight.

To this day, there has not been a clear answer as to why Ryan Garcia went on this social media tirade. Haney, opposite Garcia’s wild and unpredictable behavior, is a clear picture of focus.

Almost weekly, Haney has dropped video footage and pictures of himself training for the match. Important people from divisions higher and lower have shown respect for Haney's work ethic in the face of such unprofessional and questionable behavior being exhibited by his opponent.

Devin Haney's father, Bill Haney, has gone to every boxing media outlet possible to promote this match. It is a true “Brawl In Brooklyn”, but the fight may not go as many expect. Garcia is being trained by former Trainer of The Year Derrick James, who led Errol Spencer to three world titles at welterweight and is also the head coach of Frank “The Ghost” Martin.

Despite all of the trolling done by Garcia, James is confident in his fighter and believes that he will show up and perform on April 20th. In today’s fight week footage, Garcia punched the pads so hard that his fists popped out of his hand wraps.

Whether this is a feat of strength or a display of poor wrapping skills is to be left up to the public's interpretation, but it is proof nonetheless that Garcia is still training. In response to this, Haney and his team posted a video of himself hitting the pads in the ring, with Oscar De La Hoya watching beyond the ropes. Sean Zittel of FightHype asked De La Hoya, “Any concerns, Oscar?”

Immediately, Haney hijacked the question while he was striking the pads, showcasing excellent multitasking skills. “You should be concerned,” Haney quipped. This video gained over 600,000 views within the first three hours of it being posted. The fans are anxious to see whether or not Garcia will conquer his demons and vanquish Haney, or if Haney will eviscerate the last shining image of Garcia in the world title picture. Haney's boxing skills must be sharper than they were against Vasiliy Lomachenko.

Against Lomachenko, Haney was hit several times with shots that would have dropped any other man in their division. He needs to account for Garcia's right and left hooks and use head movement to his advantage. He tried to use feints and head movement against Lomachenko, but as the shorter fighter, Lomachenko worked his way inside and gained the advantage.

Garcia is a taller and longer fighter range-wise, so engaging Haney on the inside will be difficult. Head movement and precise footwork will still be imperative to his success, but he will have a less troubling time handling Garcia due to his physical dimensions.

If Haney chooses to box with Garcia and remove his best close-range punches from his arsenal, it will be an easy 12-round decision. If Garcia can put his foot on the gas and find the proper range, he will be able to give Haney some trouble.

However, none of this will matter if Garcia throws his power shots with his chin high and hands low. He was dropped and eventually knocked out by Gervonta “Tank” Davis last year because of his lack of haste in bringing his hands back up to guard. If he makes this mistake against Haney, he will be hurt badly like Regis Prograis was against him.

["El Azteca" Barrios Returns On Canelo Undercard!]

After being absent from the world championship conversation for many months, Mario Barrios' return match has been announced. Currently ranked #6 in the welterweight division, Barrios has serious traction.

His last match, an interim title fight, was one of his best performances. Barrios had the tall task of fighting Cuban superstar Yourdenis Ugas, best known for defeating Manny Pacquiao in a WBA Welterweight World Championship fight.

Barrios and Ugas went to war in a fight that was truly anyone's game. The speed and power of Barrios was on full display, but in typical Ugas fashion, he showed unwavering will. Similarly to his performance against Errol Spence Jr., Ugas experienced significant facial swelling.

He was dropped in the second and twelfth rounds and was also deducted a point in the final round for spitting out his mouthpiece. His desire to continue against all odds found him on the losing end of a match yet again, this time for the WBC Interim Welterweight World Championship. Barrios won on a unanimous decision based on points, with the final scorecards reading 117-108, 118-107, and 118-107.

A major storyline that has been following Barrios recently is the dispute he had with IBF Welterweight Champion Jarron "Boots" Ennis. Before Ennis inked a promotional agreement with Matchroom Boxing, Bob Santos, trainer of Carlos Adames, Hector Garcia, and Marios Barrios, claimed that Barrios had verbally agreed to fight Ennis before the IBF champion decided to join Matchroom. “We were the frontrunners for the Boots fight. We agreed to fight him. They said, ‘Would you fight Boots? Nobody wants to fight Boots.’ I said, ‘We’ll fight Boots.’ I told everybody that,” Santos said on FightHype. “We agreed to fight him. PBC approached us and said, ‘Would you be willing to fight him?’ I told everybody, ‘Of course, we’ll fight him.’ Why wouldn’t we fight him?"

The issue that pushed Ennis off to the side was promotional roadblocks. Promotional politics stopped many of the potential matchups Ennis could have participated in. Ennis felt that he wasn't being properly catered to as a superstar in the welterweight division.

Even after being elevated to full IBF Welterweight World Champion status once former Undisputed Welterweight Champion Terrence Crawford was stripped, Ennis was kept on the shelf, collecting dust as his contemporaries were paired off to fight. Leaving PBC for Matchroom was a wise decision, but it crippled Barrios' chances at potentially fighting and unifying with “Boots.”

While he is now a welterweight, Barrios was once an impressive junior-lightweight standout. At 130 lbs, Barrios racked up win after win, building his credentials as a threat for a world title. Eventually, Barrios did see action at the world championship stage. Aside from his stellar performances at 147 against Keith Thurman and Yourdenis Ugas, Barrios is also known for being a WBA Super-Lightweight World Champion, winning his belt back in 2019.

He faced Ukrainian southpaw Botirzhon Akhmedov, a former World Series of Boxing Champion. Akhmedov was a highly rated super-lightweight prospect due to his status as an amateur and walked into the fight as an undefeated challenger. Barrios, still riding the high of a 2nd round knockout just 4 months earlier, crushed Akhmedov.

He dropped Akhmedov in rounds 4 and 12, despite suffering a devastating cut from a headbutt. Barrios would go on to defend his WBA Super-Lightweight Word Championship just once before he encountered his biggest test of all Gervonta “Tank” Davis. In his first major headlining event, seats were filled for “El Azteca.” Despite the crowd being mostly pro-“Tank”, Barrios' fans and family still made their voices heard.

However, it was not enough. “Tank” maliciously battered Barrios, dropping him in the 8th round and cutting him under the left in the same round. He brought the fight to a close with a punch that cemented Barrios as a name on his resume forever, his signature counter left hook. After this loss, Barrios took some much-deserved time off to heal and decide what to do next.

Since returning from the loss that ended his reign as super-lightweight world champion, Barrios has enjoyed much success. This press for greater heights at welterweight should produce nothing but fireworks, and on May 4th, he will deliver against Fabian Andres Maidana. This takes place on the undercard of Canelo vs. Jaime Munguia, so make sure your eyes are locked on the screen as the co-main event gets announced by Jimmy Lennon Jr.

[Adrien Broner Looks to Impress Against Blair Cobbs!]

Adrien Broner is one of the most entertaining fighters of the last two eras. This distinction must be made because of how long Broner has been a cornerstone of the sport. Despite falling out with Floyd Mayweather, Leonard Ellerbe, and other contemporaries, he has managed to retain a foothold in the sport.

Any time Broner's name is mentioned, fans are sure to follow. When Gervonta “Tank” Davis was wrongfully arrested and further unjustly persecuted by police departments in Maryland and Florida, Broner stood by him.

He made posts on social media and during his fight walkout for Bill Hutchinson, his entire team wore “#FreeTank” shirts. Behind the scenes, Broner has shown love to fighters across the community. Regardless of his run-ins with Bill Haney and others, Broner is one of the last original go-getters of the prior era of boxing.

Currently ranked #9 in the welterweight division, Broner has found himself matched up against Blair "The Flair" Cobbs. Broner's last time out was against Bill Hutchinson, ranked below the top 100. It was Broner's first fight in over 2 years, and many people believed that Broner could make another run at a world championship.

This 2023 match was broadcast on Don King Promotions, who picked Broner up after his contract with Al Haymon's PBC expired. Since then, Broner has been out of the ring. His antics outside of the ring have been well-documented, however. Broner's inactivity has been a recurring problem in his career recently. People around the world have given Broner serious recommendations for new coaches and training practices, but all have fallen on deaf ears.

He has made several appearances online and in person displaying his unserious nature regarding training, which has hurt his stock significantly. However, Broner's recent Instagram Live tirade against Bill Haney has rejuvenated his career. As reported on DQ w/ Damani, Broner and Devin Haney's father clashed over the Ryan Garcia match.

Broner decided to throw his name in the hat for potential replacements in the Garcia-Haney fight if Garcia could not make it to the scale. Both parties accepted verbally, which created a significant buzz around Broner's name once again.

On social media, it does appear as if Garcia will be ready. Should Haney and Broner both be victorious in their exploits, a matchup between the two men would be amazing for the sport. Boxing needs more cross-generational fights between boxers who are on the same skill level. Up-and-comers like Haney need greater challenges as the old guard begins to fade away in several weight classes. With a name like Adrien Broner on his resume, no one would be able to question the credentials of the former Undisputed Lightweight Champion.

Blair Cobbs is looking to spoil the Adrien “The Problem” Broner comeback party. A welterweight that has been inactive for almost two years, Cobbs steps in as a former NABF Welterweight champion.

Cobbs is renowned for his unique WWE promo style of trash-talking. Many people have compared Blair Cobbs to the likes of Ric Flair and Randy “Macho Man” Savage. The press conference for this fight will surely bring many memorable quotes. It is unclear whether or not this fight will happen under Don King Promotions or Eddie Hearn's DAZN, but the fight is a must-have for the fans nonetheless.