GARCIA-HANEY 2, THE GARCIA-HANEY DOUBLE-HEADER, BETERBIEV-BIVOL 2, MORE… || FIGHTHYPE.COM

Every Thursday, FightHype makes some space among its video content to host boxing’s most NSFW mail bag column– Mine. In this week’s Sack, I address comments/questions regarding Garcia-Haney 2, The Garcia-Haney double-header, and Beterbiev-Bivol 2.

Garcia-Rolly, Haney-Ramirez

Hi Paul.

Just wanted your thoughts on the announced fights for May. Ryan Garcia vs. Rolly Romero and Devin Haney vs. Jose Ramirez, with the winners (presumably Garcia and Ramirez) fighting one another later in the year. I don’t think either fight is great on its own and even Garcia-Haney 2 doesn’t really grab my attention. What are your thoughts on all of this?

– Carlos

Hey Carlos.

First, what a thumb-in-the-eye insult that the US gets the tune-ups and preludes while Saudi Arabia gets the winners bracket– with fights featuring American fighters! That, right there, should tell you everything about this Saudi plan for boxing. Turki and his gobblers want the American market, which has all the actual fan base, to help build the Garcia-Haney 2 product for a Saudi showcase. They know that they need that boost and they also think that we’re stupid enough to give them that piggyback ride, thereby setting the stage for us perpetually building events for them to cash-in on. And, ridiculously, US boxing fans seem to be happy to have the scraps tossed at their feet, cucked into submission with hardly any effort at all. Oh well…

As for the fights?

Garcia will murder Rolly, maybe literally. Garcia is an unbearable shit-head, but he still has in his possession one of boxing’s best one-punch weapons– that rocket-like left hand. It was enough to beat Devin Haney in a bout where he was under-trained and just looked generally sloppy as fuck and it’ll be more than enough to decapitate the defensively inept Rolly. It’ll be over very early. Now, if Ryan had fought Pitbull Cruz? That may have been a different story.

As for Haney-Ramirez?

Haney will be favored to win, but I’m giving Ramirez way more of a chance than I would’ve given him last year, before Haney was humiliated by Garcia. Haney’s confidence will be wobbly and Ramirez, despite being past his prime, can still come forward and apply pressure. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Ramirez took this one. Actually, right now, I’ll go out on a limb and say that this is pretty damn close to being a 50-50 fight. 

If Garcia and Haney both win and move to a rematch? Garcia will win again and the show will do even poorer numbers than the first time.  

However, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Garcia fucks things up for this whole scenario by doing something to kill the proposed May fight.

Ring Magazine Boxing?

Paul.

So, Ring Magazine is a promoter now. Turki says they’re putting on cards and there are a couple already announced. How will all this work? It just seems like a gigantic conflict of interest.

– Damon

Hey Damon.

Well, what can I say that I didn’t already say in this past Monday’s Notes from the Boxing Underground column? Ring Magazine has been a deeply compromised embarrassment for a very long time already, but their Turki era will take that embarrassment to new heights.

What a shocker that the Saudis don’t quite grasp the concept of journalism!

With Ring Magazine serving as a de facto promoter, it’s now official that every writer working for them is a publicist (although you could’ve called most of them publicists well before Turki bought them off). 

As I wrote on Monday:

“In the coming months, as stated by Alalshikh himself, the goal is for Ring Magazine to become a de facto promoter, sponsoring boxing events which his staff will then cover, glowingly. We already see them selling the shit out of a cynical Conor Benn-Chris Eubank Jr. pairing  (Per Idec: It “should satisfy boxing fans far and wide”) and bukkake-basting Turki from all angles, at all times. 

Things will get worse as these Ring Magazine/Turki/Saudi shows roll out and it becomes imperative for Ring staff to sell the events and their pretend rankings/titles like their jobs depend on it (they will).

Maintaining moral/ethical high ground during the days of the Oscar De La Hoya-owned Ring Magazine was tough, but writers were lucky that Oscar was wildly disinterested in mundane office-level supervision. Under Turki, these people will be made to put out, like the you-know-whats that they are.”

If you’re a journalist (or someone who values journalism), this is a sack of piping-hot dog diarrhea. 

Beterbiev-Bivol 2 and Beyond

Hey Magno.

How do you see the Beterbiev-Bivol rematch going? The first one was really close, with Beterbiev just a whisker ahead in my opinion. His aggression and harder punching may lead to another points victory this second time. If he does win, what do you see in the future for him, the winner of Benavidez-Morrell?

– Gregor P.

Hey Gregor.

It was a close fight– that I thought Bivol won. My boxing business sense tells me that “they” will find a way to have Bivol win this time and force a rubber match. But, who knows, boxing logic has been turned on its head. I think there’s a wide path there for Bivol to win. A little more activity in the first fight would’ve gotten him the nod. But I also saw a bit of intimidation in his eyes towards the end of the first fight, which leads me to believe that he’ll be even less daring in the rematch.

Whoever wins, I wouldn’t hold my breath on him facing the winner of Benavidez-Morrell next. It SHOULD happen. It MIGHT happen. But there’s so much that could fall of the rails between now and then. 

Got a question (or hate mail) for Magno’s Bulging Mail Sack? The best of the best gets included in the weekly mailbag segment right here at FightHype. Send your stuff here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com.