talkSPORT betting tips – Best boxing bets and expert advice for Haney vs Garcia
Old foes Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia clash for the first time in the professional ranks at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday night.
The fighters met four times as amateurs, claiming two wins apiece, but their careers have followed different paths since entering the paid ranks.
Haney is an unbeaten former undisputed lightweight champion who is making the first defence of his WBC super lightweight title while Garcia is challenging for a world title for the first time, although he has previously been an interim title holder at lightweight.
Tips:
- Devin Haney to win by decision or technical decision @ 5/6
- Over 1.5 knockdowns @ 2/1 (talkSPORT Boost)
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Defensive expert Haney too slick for Garcia
Haney takes a defence-first approach to boxing and is incredibly tough to pin down. He produced a defensive masterclass against the big-hitting Regis Prograis in his last bout to claim a comfortable unanimous decision victory and he is likely to adopt a similar approach against another heavy-handed fighter in Garcia.
The Dream has a 31-0 record but only 15 of those wins have come inside the distance and he hasn’t claimed a stoppage success since 2019. Haney’s last eight wins have all been via unanimous decision and he could again need to gain the favour of the judges against Garcia.
Garcia is 24-1 and his sole defeat was a seventh-round TKO loss to Gervonta Davis - but he is a very different type of fighter to Haney.
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Davis’s all-action style and brutal bodyshots proved too much for Garcia to cope with on the night, but Haney is a far more measured fighter who ascribes to the ‘hit and don’t get hit’ school of boxing.
Haney has wins over elite fighters Vasyl Lomachenko and Jorge Linares on his record and has the skill set to win comfortably if he can avoid Garcia’s power punches.
Don’t rule out a few knockdowns
A points win for Haney looks a strong play but that doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t see a few knockdowns along the way and TalkSport Bet's 2/1 boosted price about their being at least two appeals.
Haney put Prograis down in the third round of his last fight and he may enjoy similar success in that regard against Garcia, who doesn’t possess a great defence.
King Ry has more of an attacking style and 20 of his 24 wins have come inside the distance. He has been dropped a couple of times himself during his career and managed to get back up again, while three of his last five bouts (W4 L1) have featured at least two knockdowns.
Admittedly, Haney has never been knocked down so this bet may rely on The Dream to do the heavy lifting. But Garcia did manage to fight on after being sent to the canvas by Davis in the second round and also recovered to win against Luke Campbell earlier in his career, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him do the same against Haney, who doesn’t carry the same level of power as the aforementioned duo.
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