“Smart Boxing”: Danny Garcia Defends Haney’s Style After Ramirez Fight, Dismissing Critics

Former two-division world champion Danny Garcia says it was “smart” for Devin Haney to use his “hit-and-not-get-hit” style last Friday night against Jose Ramirez at Times Square. He says Haney (32-0, 15 KOs) is a “boxer,” and he’s not going to stand in front of Ramirez to let him hit him.

(Credit: Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom)

The Price of Safety

Haney needed a great performance to redeem himself after his loss to Ryan Garcia last year. This effort was not what he needed, as it made him less marketable for future fights. Danny Garcia doesn’t see that angle because the sport has changed a lot since 2012, when he was at his best. Fighters can’t turn in safety-first trash performances and expect to be paid top dollar.

“The whole point of boxing is to hit and not get hit. I understand that people want to see a fight,” said Danny Garcia to Fighthype, talking about last Friday’s Times Square card with Devin Haney stinking bout the joint, running from Jose Ramirez for 12 rounds. “Haney is a boxer. He’s not going to stand in front of Ramirez and let him hit him.

Haney needed to increase his marketability after his last performance against Ryan Garcia, and he utterly failed with his safety-first performance. He could have easily stood in front of the slow-punching Ramirez and gotten the better of him in the exchanges. He didn’t do it. Devin’s performance was so bad with his running and holding that it lowered his stock even further than it was when he came into the fight.

“His job is to get his points, use his legs, and win,” Danny continued about Haney. “I know people want to see a fight, but styles make fights. If you want to see better fights, then you have to fight competition that is not going to let you be comfortable in the ring. Make you dig deep and make you think.”

When Haney is getting $10 million for a tune-up fight against a washed opponent, he owes it to the fans and to Turki Alalshikh to put in an A+ effort by putting his chin on the firing line rather than running around for the entire fight. Danny Garcia doesn’t get it. He’s only seeing it from the narrow viewpoint of Haney needing to win, but he fails to understand that he needs to entertain because he’s fighting on PPV, and he’s been paid a lot. He said before the fight that he was going to “Make a statement,” but he didn’t even try.

“Smart” Strategy

“So, for me, it was more matchmaking. That’s why you got those types of fights. I wasn’t surprised because both Haney and Scull, that’s their style. They’re boxers. They want to hit and not get hit. It’s smart if you ask me. I see people getting angry, but boxing really is hit and not get hit,” said Danny.

It would have been a much more entertaining fight if Turki Alalshikh had insisted that Haney fight a live dog like Jaron Ennis, Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero, Brian Norman Jr., or Gary Antuanne Russell. The running and holding that Devin used against the old veteran, Jose Ramirez, wouldn’t have been enough to guarantee victory against those guys

They would have cut off the ring on Haney, and/or knocked him out with the chances they did get to hit him. It was asking for trouble matching Devin against the slow, faded Ramirez, because he would take advantage of the situation by jabbing and running all night. That’s his style.

The purpose of Haney being matched against the faded veteran Ramirez was twofold: 1. for showcase purposes to make him look like gold. 2. Get the rust out from a year of inactivity.

While Haney got the rust out, he turned in a terrible performance that makes him useless for a rematch with Ryan Garcia. If you’re Turki, you’re probably thinking, ‘I don’t need this kind of fighter on any of my cards. He brings no value.’