“He Got Heart”: Claressa Shields Makes Early Prediction on Ryan Garcia vs Devin Haney Fight

Published 02/18/2024, 9:27 PM EST

Vegas is gonna be electric in April! Two young guns, Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia, will be settling their old score in the squared circle. One’s a champ with a spotless record, the other a hungry contender on an upward trajectory after facing a devastating loss last year. Experts favor Haney, but Garcia packs a mean left hook and ain’t afraid to throw hands.

Expect trash talk, mind games, and maybe even a dig about that body shot that ended Garcia’s last fight. This ain’t just a title fight, it’s quite personal for both the fighters. Furthermore, even Claressa Shields understands the stakes of this matchup and has made her pick for the upcoming fight.

Haney Favored: Claressa Shields Predicts Unanimous Decision Victory

Claressa Shields, boxing royalty herself, weighed in on the Haney vs. Garcia bout, and her verdict leans towards the champion. While acknowledging Garcia’s explosiveness, Shields points to Haney’s tougher fights and consistent growth as key factors. She envisions a competitive start, with Garcia utilizing his strengths, but predicts Haney taking control in the later rounds.

Shields said, “It just seems like that to me, Devin Haney has had harder fights. He has had more challenging fights and he’s grown more. I don’t know if I can say that about Ryan.” Furthermore, she stated that Haney would win via a unanimous decision against Garcia. Even though she also mentioned, “I see that as a very close competitive fight early. And I say that because of Ryan’s attributes like he got heart, right? He’s fast, he’s flashy.”

Furthermore, Devin Haney took a brutal dig at his opponent not so long ago in an interview. Getting picked by Shields, even Haney talked about how he’d make Garcia quit just like the Victorville native did in one of his boxing matches.

Haney-Garcia heats up further

Reigning champion Haney, undefeated with 31 victories, hinted at Garcia’s loss to Gervonta Davis, labeling it a ‘quitting’ moment marked by an early knockdown and a seemingly innocuous body shot that led to Garcia taking a knee and being counted out. Haney viewed this as a character flaw, suggesting such weakness could resurface under pressure.

Haney said, “We’ve seen Ryan quit before and I think that this won’t be anything different. I think, you know, once you have that quit in you, it’s installed in you, you know how to do it and I think he’ll quit on April the 20th.”

“I Was With Them at Amateurs”: Keyshawn Davis Reasons Why Devin Haney Will Beat Ryan Garcia

‘The Dream’ is hellbent on crushing the dreams of his opponent to grab the title for the first time. With a 3-3 score in the amateurs, the upcoming bout will also give one of the fighters bragging rights. What are your thoughts about this exciting matchup? Will you be tuning in to watch the fight on April 20th? Tell us in the comments section below.

Watch This Story: Teofimo Lopez Reveals Why he Declined the $1.5 Million Ryan Garcia fight offer

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My passion for sweet science began at the tender age of 12, a gift from my father who introduced me to the legendary persona of Muhammad Ali. In my heart, 'The Rumble in the Jungle' still remains to be the pinnacle of sporting history. Over the years, my fervor for boxing remained intact, although life's commitments sometimes deviated me from being a hardcore fan of the sport.

Edited by:

Arijit Saha