Ryan Garcia and his next opponent’s dilemma in the lighter-weight division has become a curiosity for many, especially after Garcia announced his next opponent and later changed it to Rolly Romero.
Around the same time, Floyd Mayweather and Ryan Garcia were spotted spending time together. Some experts speculated that the influence of boxing legends like Mayweather might have played a role in Garcia changing his next opponent promptly.
Ryan Garcia reveals: Floyd Mayweather advised him to change plans
Later, Ryan Garcia’s boss, Oscar De La Hoya, announced that even his client’s wish won’t get fully fulfilled, as he revealed that Gracia’s next opponent won’t be Rolly Romero. Last year was a redemption period for Ryan, experiencing his first career loss to Gervonta Davis in April but ending the year with a knockout win against Oscar Duarte. Since December 2nd, 2023, there has been speculation about Garcia facing Haney, but a change in the latter’s decision led to a significant setback.
Ryan Garcia has confirmed that it was indeed Floyd Mayweather who initially changed his mind from wanting to fight Devin Haney to Rolly Romero next: “I'm not gonna lie, Floyd's pretty influential. He's like, 'Why would you do that? Why don't you fight Rolly for the belt and then…
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) January 30, 2024
In the end, the combat sports community got to know the specific reason behind Ryan Garcia’s choice of Rolly Romero or any other opponent instead of Devin Haney. Ryan disclosed that it was Floyd Mayweather’s advice to go for the belt against Rolly first before taking on Devin Haney. He also shared how boxing legends influenced him to announce the bout quickly, suggesting a “paraphrasing” correction in the announcement.
“I’m not gonna lie, Floyd’s pretty influential. He’s like, ‘Why would you do that? Why don’t you fight Rolly for the belt and then fight Haney?’ I said, ‘That’s makes sense, but I told the people already I’m gonna fight Devin.’ He said, ‘Some things change.’ I’m paraphrasing but I made the quick decision, ‘Alright Floyd, that makes sense.’”
Later, Ryan Garcia also revealed that if he had fought Devin Haney, it would have forced his father to step in to help him up. “Devin will be destroyed, and his dad is going to have to help him up. I’m going to give him [Bill] that look [in the ring] like ‘you better stop it’. If he’s not knocked out cold, this is going to get a lot worse. You better pray he gets knocked out cold.” He even issued a warning to Haney about the possibility of getting knocked out cold, emphasizing that things could turn ugly if it didn’t happen that way.
Fans lash out at Floyd Mayweather
Disregarding Ryan Garcia’s comments about Devin Haney, fans squarely pointed to the cause of the entire dilemma. They expressed displeasure when Garcia accepted the advice of the boxing legend, seeing it as the main factor behind the whole situation.
Even in retirement Floyd is preventing big fights.
— Javier (@Javier_In_LA) January 30, 2024
A fan went so far as to mock former boxing champion Floyd Mayweather for getting involved in others’ decisions regarding significant fights and not allowing them to pursue major matchups of their choice.
Ended up not fighting either. Great job Floyd. Somebody really look out for this kid. Oscar and Floyd are not.
— Rock (@HighiQRock) January 30, 2024
Another fan mocked Ryan Garcia, suggesting that the plan was to fight sooner, but he ended up not getting any fights yet. The fan humorously praised Floyd, sarcastically proposing that the boxing community should offer Garcia the right advice since Oscar and Floyd seemed unable to do so. “Ended up not fighting either. Great job Floyd. Somebody really look out for this kid. Oscar and Floyd are not.”
What are your thoughts on Ryan Garcia postponing or skipping the anticipated rivalry clash with Devin Haney?
