Ryan Garcia’s dominating victory over Devin Haney on Saturday created a difficult scenario right here.
On one hand, Garcia turned in arguably the perfect efficiency of the yr to date, placing his No. 10-ranked pound-for-pound opponent down 3 times and successful a majority resolution to stun the favored Haney and the boxing world.
Garcia deserves credit score for executing a superb sport plan to perfection, which actually raised his inventory.
Then again, he weighed in a whopping 3.2 kilos over the 140-pound restrict for the combat, a failure that detracts from his accomplishment to a superb diploma.
That needed to be considered once we had been deciding whether or not he deserves to climb onto our pound-for-pound checklist.
Then there’s Haney. Sure, he misplaced in conclusive, even embarrassing vogue, which, underneath regular circumstances, would require us to take away him from our rankings or least drop him from No. 10 to Honorable Point out.
Nevertheless, there’s the burden problem. Garcia was successfully a welterweight combating a junior welterweight, which one may argue is an unfair benefit.
The actual fact is Haney agreed – for no matter purpose – to undergo with the combat although Garcia missed weight by a mile, although. The chips fall the place they might in that state of affairs.
Difficult, proper?
Right here’s what we determined to do. Garcia can’t be rewarded for such an absence of professionalism, one which we are able to presume performed a task within the consequence. Plus, the very fact he was stopped by Gervonta Davis solely two fights in the past can’t be ignored.
So Garcia should wait to turn into a Boxing Junkie pound-for-pounder.
Haney? He has to go.
Once more, he selected to combat an chubby Garcia, evidently believing that his perceived superiority by way of talent may compensate for any bodily edge Garcia might need. The outcome was ugly for him. He didn’t look something like a pound-for-pounder.
In consequence, Haney was faraway from the checklist, which lifted Nos. 11-15 Bam Rodriguez, Artur Beterbiev, Errol Spence Jr., Vasiliy Lomachenko and Shakur Stevenson up one notch every.
Additionally, two-time 168-pound titleholder David Benavidez, an Honorable Point out going into the week, strikes as much as No. 15. And Junto Nakatani, the unbeaten 118-pound beltholder from Japan, enters for the primary time as an Honorable Point out.
Subsequent pound-for-pounder up: No. 6 Canelo Alvarez is scheduled to defend his undisputed 168-pound championship towards Jaime Munguia on Could 4 in Las Vegas.
Right here’s what the checklist appears to be like like in the meanwhile:
BOXING JUNKIEPOUND-FOR-POUND
Terence Crawford – Scheduled to problem 154-pound titleholder
Israil Madrimov on Aug. 3 in Los Angeles.
Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to defend his undisputed 122-pound championship towards Luis Nery on Could 6 in Japan.
Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to face No. 9 Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Could 18 in Saudi Arabia.
Dmitry Bivol – Scheduled to face No. 12 Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed 175-pound championship on June 1 in Saudi Arabia.
Juan Francisco Estrada – Scheduled to defend his 115-pound title towards No. 11 Jesse Rodriguez on June 29 in Phoenix.
Canelo Alvarez – Scheduled to defend his undisputed 168-pound championship towards Jaime Munguia on Could 4 in Las Vegas.
Jermell Charlo – No combat scheduled.
Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to defend his 135-pound title towards Frank Martin on June 15 in Las Vegas.
Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Could 18 in Saudi Arabia.
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez – Scheduled to face No. 5 Juan Francisco Estrada for Estrada’s 115-pound title on June 29 in Phoenix.
Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to face No. 4 Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed 175-pound championship on June 1 in Saudi Arabia.
Errol Spence Jr. – No combat scheduled.
Vasiliy Lomachenko – Scheduled to face George Kambosos Jr. for the vacant IBF 135-pound title Could 12 in Australia.
Shakur Stevenson – Reportedly close to a deal to defend his 135-pound title towards Artem Harutyunyan on July 6 in Newark, New Jersey.
David Benavidez – Scheduled to combat 175-pounder Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15 in Las Vegas.
Honorable point out (alphabetical order): Jermall Charlo (no combat scheduled); Roman Gonzalez (no combat scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to face Fernando Martinez in a 115-pound title-unification bout in on July 7 in Tokyo); Teofimo Lopez (reportedly close to a deal to defend his 140-pound title towards Steve Claggett on June 29 in Miami); Junto Nakatani (no combat scheduled).
