Few men know the sport of boxing better than legendary trainer Buddy McGirt.
McGirt led Arturo Gatti to battle in his three bloody wars against Micky Ward, but the thought of watching Ryan Garcia step through the ropes to face Devin Haney this Saturday (April 20) is distressing – even for him.
Garcia and his recent antics across social media have raised questions about the fighter’s mental health heading into his WBC super lightweight title fight against Haney and McGirt revealed he is surprised the bout is being allowed to take place.
“I don’t even wanna talk about that fight, I don’t think that fight should even be taking place,” McGirt said. “I’m surprised that the New York commission is allowing that to happen. All the stuff that Garcia has been going through mentally; he should not be fighting right now. It’s deeper than one thing, it’s on the surface right now – I could be wrong.”
Garcia and Haney were rivals as amateurs with the pair fighting six times, both winning three contests each in the unpaid ranks. The high paced close contests are a thing of the past, however, and McGirt can only see one winner when the two meet as professionals. “Haney wins it – stoppage,” added McGirt.
“I just think Haney is going to beat him, I think Haney has too many guns for him. He’s coming along very well, he’s improved a lot over the years, I think he’s doing very well.”
McGirt has been impressed with the two-weight champion but, when asked if Haney needs the names of Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta Davis on his record to be considered an all time great, he only had one answer, “Oh yes without a doubt,” said McGirt.
“He can achieve a lot and right now I just think it’s a matter of time, but these guys [Stevenson, Davis, Haney] have got to step up and fight each other. Back in the day everybody fought each other, no one was afraid to lose their ‘0’, they weren’t afraid to go out there and give it all they got.”
