- Who: Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia
- What: Haney’s WBC junior welterweight title
- Date: Saturday, April 20, 2024
- Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
- Location: Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, NY
- How to Watch: DAZN
On April 20, the unbeaten Devin Haney puts his perfect record and WBC junior welterweight title on the line against Ryan Garcia. According to The Ring, Haney is the No 1 junior welterweight in the world. While Garcia is not rated by The Ring, he enters the April 20 matchup as the No. 6 ranked 140-pounder in the WBC rankings. Haney is a former undisputed lightweight champion. He won that title in June 2022 with a unanimous decision over George Kambosos Jr. Haney defended his undisputed title twice before moving to 140 pounds in December 2023, when he captured the WBC junior welterweight belt with a unanimous decision victory over Regis Prograis. Garcia is coming off a December 2023 knockout win over Oscar Duarte.
Devin Haney (31-0 with 15 knockouts) has been in nothing but title fights since he captured the vacant USBA lightweight title in May 2018. The 25-year-old is a force to be reckoned with, and his skills inside the ring have earned him the No. 7 spot in The Ring’s pound-for-pound rankings.
Ryan Garcia ( 24-1 with 20 KOs) tasted defeat for the first time when Gervonta Davis stopped him in the seventh round of their April 2023 scrap. Garcia bounced back from that loss with a win over Duarte.
Before looking at the betting odds and picks for the Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia matchup, check out the best boxing betting sites and where you can find the best boxing picks.
Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia betting picks
Devin Haney betting breakdown
The current WBC junior welterweight champion, Devin Haney, is one of the most skilled young fighters in the game. He enters this fight with a lot of momentum following his wins over name opponents George Kambosos, Vasiliy Lomachenko, and Regis Prograis. Haney has more skills and better fundamentals than Garcia. The major question facing Haney right now are what will happen when he faces real adversity in his fights. Haney is coming off a shutout win over Prograis where he won the fight 120-107 on all three scorecards. The junior welterweight champ can work well from distance, and if he moves well, Garcia will struggle to keep Haney in range. Another worry regarding Haney is his chin. He has been staggered in the past.
What could hurt Haney in this fight is if he takes Garcia too lightly. There have been some questions about Garcia’s fitness to take this fight, if Haney takes his foot off the gas during training and sees Garcia as light work it could bite him. However, with the way Haney’s team has handled his career and rise, don’t expect that to happen.
Ryan Garcia betting breakdown
Ryan Garcia fell well short in the first big fight of his boxing career. In that 2023 matchup against Gervonta Davis, he landed only 24 percent of his total punches in that scrap and hit the deck in the second round when Davis uncorked his first power punch of the fight. Garcia normally lands more than 31 percent of his total punches.
Garcia, who has better than average power in his hands, tends to fight on a straight line, and his footwork is lacking. That will enable Haney to slide off the center line and avoid Garcia’s power punches while at the same time setting up his own power shots. Garcia also tends to leave his lead foot on the inside and drop his lead hand. Haney will exploit both these tendencies.
One advantage Garcia has is his sneaky fast lead hook, but that’s something Haney will be very ready for when he faces the 25-year-old Garcia in April.
Garcia has picked up a great deal of negative attention for his social media posts over the past month. His posts have many wondering about his fitness ahead of a matchup with a top-level foe like Haney. Even at his best, Garcia will have his hands full against Haney. If he is compromised in any way, Garcia could be in a great deal of trouble in this bout.
Best bets for Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia
Devin Haney is deservedly the overwhelming betting favorite ahead of his battle against Ryan Garcia. The champ is the better fighter, and his overall skill set is levels higher than Garcia’s. The betting pick is for Haney to use his superior skills to pick up a decision victory over Garcia. However, there is some betting value in picking the champ to win via a late TKO/KO.
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