Ryan Garcia vs. Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz is still in negotiations, looking at a possible catchweight at 144 lbs for their welterweight clash in May at Times Square in Manhattan, New York. This is Turki Al-Sheikh’s doubleheader event, with Devin Haney fighting former WBC and WBO light welterweight champion Jose Ramirez in a risky tune-up.
Garcia-Cruz At 144
Fighting at welterweight isn’t ideal for the short 5’4″ Cruz (26-3-1, 18 KOs) because he was small, even when he was fighting at lightweight. It’ll be interesting to see if Pitbull has more power at 144. If he’s even more dangerous at that weight than at 140, Kingry (24-1, 20 KOs) could be in for a tough fight.
A nightmare for Turki would be for Garcia and Haney to lose their tune-up fights on the same night, sending them into their October rematch off the back of humiliating defeats. Ryan has a lot of pride and might resist fighting Haney without at least trying to avenge his loss to Cruz by fighting him in October instead. It would be up to Turki if he would still want Garcia and Haney to fight coming off defeats.
Haney’s opponent, 2012 U.S. Olympian Jose Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs), might have too much talent for him. This is a guy that Devin would have had trouble beating even before Ryan whipped him last April, but after that beat down, he’s going to be vulnerable against a puncher like Ramirez.
Haney Faces Ramirez
When Haney agreed to fight Ramirez, he might have thought he had another Regis Prograis he could outbox with his jabbing and holding. However, Ramirez is a much better fighter than Prograis, and the tricks Haney used against Regis—constant clinching, jabbing, and movement—won’t work as well against the experienced Ramirez. He’s often dealt with those types of fighters during his amateur and professional career.
Update: The talks continue for #GarciaCruz… there is no economic agreement yet and a catchweight is possible at 144 pounds.
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Last Updated on 01/19/2025