Paulie Malignaggi says Ryan Garcia ‘exposed’ Devin Haney in shocking boxing upset
Boxing analyst Paulie Malignaggi feels Devin Haney’s loss to Ryan Garcia exposed a lot of flaws in the WBC super lightweight champ’s skillset.
Haney lost to Garcia by majority decision last weekend in New York City. It was a stunning upset after weeks of bizarre behavior by Garcia outside of the ring, but inside of it, Garcia put on a clinic.
Haney was knocked down three times in his fight with Garcia, the most he’s ever been knocked down during his career. Despite his first professional loss, Haney retained the WBC super lightweight title after Garcia failed to make weight.
Malignaggi, one of the top minds in boxing, feels Garcia’s stunning win was more about Haney’s flaws than Garcia’s triumphs.
Paulie Malignaggi: Devin Haney’s loss ‘exposed’ a lot of his flaws
https://youtu.be/1dnuXBeeQEI?si=FplSKW3IXg9v-wL0
During a recent upload to his YouTube channel, Malignaggi gave his honest assessment of Haney vs. Garcia.
“Back to the drawing board for Devin Haney,” Malignaggi said. “Still a good fighter, but he just wasn’t a pound-for-pound guy. I think this exposed it. No ability to adjust whatsoever…
“I saw some people that were giving Ryan a chance, but I really couldn’t take it seriously based on, not just his antics, but his inability to have shown me different dimensions in the past. I really am not so sure he showed those different dimensions in this fight. It more so was exposing Devin Haney than it was Ryan Garcia showing anything else.”
Haney and Garcia could potentially clash in a rematch later this year, especially after Haney retained the belt. Haney won his first 31 professional fights before the loss to Garcia.
Garcia has now won two in a row since a TKO loss to Gervonta Davis last April. He knocked out Oscar Duarte in his return in December.
Haney, for the first time in his career, will look to bounce back from a setback inside the ring. Malignaggi feels Haney needs to develop leaps and bounds before squaring up with Garcia for a second time.
