Haney vs. Garcia Ends in Shock, Ramirez Returns Against Barthelemy, Oscar Duarte Stuns Jojo Diaz!

It was all an act. Ryan Garcia has shocked the world. It was truly a fight that never seemed to be in Garcia's favor from the show he put on in the lead-up to the contest. As reported in last week's article, Garcia presented himself poorly.

He truly appeared to be out of sorts, a fighter who let himself go.

The Ryan Garcia that showed up on fight night was not the same Ryan Garcia who told the world of secret activity happening actively in the deep forests of America. Devin Haney, similarly to Gervonta “Tank” Davis, made light of Garcia's left hook.

He claimed that all Garcia had was his “Hail Mary”, the left hook that has found him on the winning end of the column several times. The only difference between Haney and “Tank”, is that the latter was able to take advantage of the left hook. The former was dropped by this punch three times across 12 rounds.

Gervonta Davis' head movement was the ultimate foil to the highlight-reel left hook of Garcia. He rolled under Garcia's left hook each time he threw it and countered over the top from southpaw position, brutalizing Garcia in his knockout victory. Juxtaposing Davis' performance, Haney was eager to counter Ryan with no head movement.

Haney admitted that he and his trainers prepared for Ryan Garcia's left hook. It's also clear from the footage released to the public that Haney's preparation wasn't lacking in any department. It all came down to speed, precision, and head movement. In the very first round, the first left hook that Garcia threw rocked Haney out of his socks.

Haney threw a counter jab at the same time and was successful in snapping the head of Garcia back, but he sacrificed his chin in the process. This is because Haney didn't roll under the shot like “Tank” Davis did. The trend of Haney attempting to counter without head movement continued throughout the fight, with Garcia's pseudo-Philly Shell making an appearance yet again.

While Garcia turned his back, Haney had no surface area to hit. He resorted to blasting away at the body with his right hand. The issue with this is that the referees who have worked Garcia's fights have no idea how to handle it. He has received plenty of warnings from the referees involved, but never a point taken.

There need to be clearer guidelines on turning one's back during a fight. Aside from his point deduction for punching during the break, Ryan Garcia was able to gain an advantage through physical means. The problem that has sullied this once-golden WBC Super-Lightweight World Championship fight surrounds weight. Many people were confused by the fact that Ryan Garcia was not crowned the new WBC Super-Lightweight champion on Saturday. The facts are that Garcia did not make weight.

Challengers who do not make contractual weight for world championship matches are automatically ineligible to win the championship they are challenging for. Garcia showed up on Friday at 143.5 lbs, 3.5 lbs over the weight limit. As such, Garcia lost his opportunity to win the belt. When asked about the weight post-fight, Garcia stated, "Floyd told me to come in 3.5 lbs over." Since then, no more has come from Garcia's team on the matter. If Garcia had applied himself and shown up on target weight, he would have entered the new monthly rankings as WBC champion.

Some may argue that Garcia's moral victory is greater than winning any world title. Here on DQ w/ Damani, we believe that titles make the world move. There's only one way to get the sanctioning bodies and other world champions below and above you to notice you. That is to win a belt. When Canelo Alvarez won belts at 154, everyone at 160 was put on notice. When Tank began his grand heist in the lower weights and moved up to 140 to snatch Mario Barrios' WBA Super-Lightweight World Championship, everyone at 140 knew that their days were numbered.

Similar to Tank's leap up to 140, Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz now has Teofimo Lopez shaking in his boots. With no world championship to his name, it will be more difficult to appeal to the other world champions in the division. With the WBC title around his waist, Garcia could have easily forced a unification bout with IBF Super-Lightweight World Champion Subriel Matias.

The dominating and shocking performance he put on against Haney will only make things more difficult, this win has put him in the "high risk, low reward" category. His shining undefeated record is gone, the weight problem also cannot go unnoticed, and the failure of Garcia's team to recognize that has now created a situation where he can make no demands through his name, outside of the fact that he defeated the former Undisputed Lightweight Champion.

[Arnold Barboza Wins Razor-Thin Decision!]

Arnold Barboza Jr. has been Teofimo Lopez's mandatory for a year now. Barboza has used his power as mandatory challenger to force a fight with Lopez, but it never materialized.

This pushed Barboza to leave Bob Arum's Top Rank and join Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions. It was clear for some time that Barboza was the man for Lopez to defend his WBO-The Ring Super-Lightweight World Championship against, but Lopez chose other competition.

While Barboza jumped ship for Golden Boy, Lopez defended his lineal and WBO titles against the formerly undefeated Jamaine Ortiz. Barboza went on to defeat Xolisani Ndongeni on the undercard of Vergil Ortiz vs. Fredrick Lawson, which landed him another WBO-Intercontinental Super-Lightweight title fight.

This time, Barboza found himself in the ring opposite Sean McComb. McComb entered the fight with a healthy 18-1 record, while Barboza stepped in as one of the few undefeated men in the higher ranks of the super-lightweight division. McComb is relatively unknown in America due to spending most of his career in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

The 6'0" range-finding southpaw had much to prove on the night, and he did. From the opening round, the Irishman's 1-2 combination troubled the rough and confident Barboza. The Mexican had a tough night at the office, but he tried his best to work in between McComb's punches. In the third round, McComb used the Philly Shell from southpaw.

This is interesting because it is very rare to see a southpaw use this technique. The Philly Shell is most often used by orthodox fighters, but in the event that a southpaw uses it, the rear hand and lead outside foot advantage combined will create a dangerous fighter. Each time Barboza jabbed to the body, McComb used his right hand and arm to block, and immediately responded with a counter left. Sometimes they split the guard, other times Barboza's guard was too tight to land cleanly. Barboza's defense held up in the first half of the fight, but he had major difficulties getting inside because of McComb's Philly Shell.

Any time Barboza went up top, McComb dipped his head and gave Barboza his shoulder. Barboza's hooks didn't have much real estate, but his straight shots began to land more frequently in round 7. Barboza also skillfully used feints to the body in an attempt to get McComb to drop his hands low.

However, upon Barboza stepping in to unleash the real shot, he found himself victim to the outside lead foot advantage from the southpaw. McComb blasted Barboza with a straight left, whipping his head back each time it landed. These devastating left hands never rocked Barboza, but he had significant problems with it.

The unique misfortune Barboza faced ended here, but the punches never stopped coming back. McComb's linear style of punching out of the southpaw position was so puzzling for Barboza's team that they couldn't find an adequate answer. The fight saw the entire period, with the judges handing out their decisions. The fight went Barboza's way, to the shock and dismay of the boxing community. The judge's scorecards read 97-93, 92-98, and 96-94 at the bell. Barboza walked away with a peculiar win on his record but advances to higher competition.

One can only wonder what's next for Arnold Barboza. Since 2013 he has retained his undefeated record, using a combination of outboxing and bludgeoning force when choosing to fight in the pocket. He is ranked 11th in the super-lightweight division currently, just behind Steve Claggett, Japanese-Ghanian standout Andy Hiraoka, and Richardson Hitchins.

Now that Barboza has crossed party lines to Golden Boy, a match with Hiraoka is out of the question. Richardson Hitchins recently made his DAZN debut under Matchroom's banner, edging out a close victory against Gustavo Lemos. If Hitchins is confident in his boxing skills, a match with Barboza will help clear the bottom-table contenders out and send a message to the champions.

The only other significant competition within the umbrella of DAZN is Regis Prograis, Jose Carlos Ramirez, and IBF Super-Lightweight World Champion Subriel Matias. Prograis occupies the #6 spot in the division. It is too early to set up Matias and Barboza, in light of his performance against McComb. Regis Prograis may serve as a suitable challenge, both men are in need of a comfortable win to break into the title picture.

Ramirez won a decision against Rances Barthelemy on the same card as Oscar Duarte and Vergil Ortiz on Saturday, which qualifies him as a solid challenge for Barboza. Regardless of which direction Barboza chooses to turn, he will find himself in another great fight.

[Jose Ramirez Returns in Clash with Rances Barthelemy!]

Plenty of questions have surrounded the career of Jose Ramirez. After Ramirez and Regis Prograis had an explosive encounter on Instagram Live in December 2022, many people began to wonder if Ramirez was truly willing to face the upper echelon of the super-lightweight division.

He had just beaten Jose Pedraza, and Prograis wanted the fight badly. It never materialized. Instead, Ramirez knocked Richard Commey out in the 11th round the following year. Ramirez wrapped up his 2023 with no fights after this, sitting out from March, until this past Saturday.

In a main event that featured Vergil Ortiz and Oscar Duarte on the undercard, Ramirez delivered a well-earned victory against Cuban veteran Rancez Barthelemy. Barthelemy, a former 2x IBF World Champion, came into the fight losing only one of his last four. He beat Omar Juarez by a majority decision on May 13th of last year.

The fight was a true show of grit and determination. Barthelemy, the older man, was by no means the weaker of the two. He repeatedly switched stances throughout the fight, confusing Ramirez when he made attempts to cut the ring off. Ramirez was wary of this initially, but once he realized that Barthelemy wasn't taking advantage of his time in the orthodox stance he chose to press with bad intentions.

Interestingly, Barthelemy didn't appear to be hurt. Instead, it was Ramirez who came out of several exchanges as the loser. A feature of Barthelemy's optimal Cuban-style boxing is his tendency to draw his opponent in. He uses his opponent's activity against them, waiting for them to tire out while he takes rounds off to restrategize. Barthelemy often sets traps by hiding behind the high guard, tucking his elbows, and clubbing his wrists together to limit accessible surface area.

He will strike with a soul-crushing left hand when he has the lead foot advantage, even while against the ropes. This became a repeated process across the 12-round stretch for Barthelemy, baiting Ramirez in for viable striking opportunities that would have otherwise been out of reach. Ramirez refused to be deterred and walked through the fire to blast away at Barthelemy’s body.

These body shots were enough to get his opponent to drop his hands on several occasions. When Ramirez connected cleanly to the right side of his body, Barthelemy moved off the back foot to circle the ring and reposition himself. It was a clear sign that Ramirez's game plan was working, but it was not enough to drop his experienced opponent to the canvas.

Each time Barthelemy connected with a straight left, the crowd reacted with a gasp. When Ramirez pressured Barthelemy to the ropes yet again, they responded with screams and cheers.

It was a fast-paced fight with little to desire other than activity from Barthelemy, and better shot selection from Ramirez. At the bell, it was clear that Ramirez was the victor. The scores from the judges began with 118-110, with the last two being an identical 119-109, 119-109 for Ramirez.

Barthelemy's reluctance to throw punches in the pocket was the deciding factor in the win. Had Barthelemy been more active, the scorecards would have looked much differently. Ramirez walks away as the 3rd best super-lightweight in the world, beckoning for a world title opportunity.

[Oscar Duarte Wins War with Jojo Diaz!]

Oscar Duarte has been an incoming threat for the 135 and 140 lb division for some time now. His fight against Ryan Garcia is what gave him international recognition, but this week's match against Jojo Diaz also deserves respect. Diaz came into the fight looking for a big win. Diaz's recent performances haven't been great, and after switching to a new coach, he hoped to get his career back on track.

Being a former world champion definitely helps when coaches are looking to take new fighters into their gyms, but Diaz’s issue was never his coach. The loss that began this saga of Diaz’s career came from Devin Haney, the very man who has now found himself in an incredibly scary situation in the 140 lb division. Diaz was a much more active fighter in this phase of his career.

He was a fresh face in the division and carried the WBC Interim Lightweight World title into his fight with Haney. Against Duarte, he appeared to be a shell of his former self. He threw meaningful punches, but he was never showcasing a desire to be first to the punch. It's much easier said than done against a fighter such as Oscar Duarte, but it was clear in the second and third rounds that Duarte respected his power.

Diaz was using great body shots to distract Duarte from his left hook, but Duarte was too busy applying pressure to react the way the former IBF Super Featherweight champion wanted him to. Ultimately, Diaz found himself against the ropes several times. Jojo's boxing off the backfoot gained him praise from the commentators, but it wasn't enough for the referee.

Duarte had done enough damage for the referee's liking, and Diaz saw his fight end in the ninth round. Oscar Duarte successfully defeated Jojo Diaz by TKO in the ninth round, adding more credibility to his name in the upcoming tumultuous times the lower-weight classes will be thrown into.

This win over Jojo Diaz inadvertently causes Ryan Garcia's win over Duarte to age well. Duarte has always been a formidable opponent in the ring, but Garcia was able to put him back in the losing column with ease. Despite relying on intense forward pressure in the same way he did against Garcia, Duarte made a good showing of himself and gave the crowd a much-deserved treat fo