We're halfway into the co-main event of the Haney - Garcia fight tonight as I write at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and the excitement is beginning to mount. Many questions to be answered from the chaos and histrionics for this fight over the last 24 hours - from Ryan not coming close to making weight at the 140 pound super lightweight limit, Devin pushing Ryan at the Empire State building, two months of chaos in promotion from Ryan on social media claiming to have proof of the conspiracy at Bohemian Grove and being abused himself, asking women to marry him, and leaving the mother of his child in divorce just a few hours after giving birth (ok that may have been before the official promotion, still insane).
I do not believe the boxing world has seen a build up this weird since the 2013 bout between Paulie Malignaggi and Adrien Broner, in which Adrien famously called Paulie's girlfriend when he was on the mic at their press conference, and then claimed to come to New York and 'steal his belt and his girl' after getting a decision victory. It's all chaos... but the one calming and orderly component of this past week is seeing an old familiar face the boxing community loves, the great Jim Lampley:
For those who may not know, Jim is the greatest play by play announcer in boxing history (I would argue in sports history) covering HBO World Championship boxing for 30 years. I've felt like a bit of a fish out of water since that clown Peter Nelson and his Lord Farquad face ran HBO boxing out of town at the end of 2018 - too many networks (ESPN, DAZN, UFC Fight Pass, now Amazon? What are we doing?), too many production teams, lesser fight buildup, and lesser production value hurt the value of the content - but Jim brought more than just that, he brought a feel, a professionalism, and a level of talent that the sports world has not seen before or since in the broadcast booth. Jim is the greatest storyteller in the sport where the competitors are at their most vulnerable, and he always wore it on his sleeve - I always admired this man, and still do to this day - perhaps I am just happy to see him because I want to be like him when I'm a little older.
According to the second interview, he is hosting the live chat of the production tonight? I really have no idea what that means - sounds text based? With PPV.com? Confusing once again... but just having him around and in the fray in the boxing world is a win for all fans. Is it the same as seeing him ringside with Roy Jones and Merchant/Kellerman? No but it's much better than having him fall completely off the map. Hope to see more of you, Jim!
As for the fight itself, my friend, fellow boxing fan, and former OneTake Media(.com) contributor Tavis Ino is a believer in his countryman Ryan Garcia to get it done, which would come in as one of the more unexpected outcomes in recent memory for boxing. Perhaps it's the bravado, perhaps the strong hair, perhaps the fact they are both Mexican and cannot speak a word of Spanish, but TI seems to be choosing Ryan.
This fight is like a new age Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. vs Sergio Martinez in September of 2012 for the middleweight world title (I believe it was WBC, if I recall correctly, their head was JCC Jr.'s godfather.) JCC Jr. was the up and comer, slightly more talented fighter with the big name and big potential, as well as the big right hand that was coming off a training camp where he famously blew off the greatest trainer of the generation, Dedham's own Freddie Roach.
Martinez was ahead easily on the cards headed into the 12th, but the beauty of combat sports is the ability to hit the 30 point shot, the 10 run homerun, and he almost came away with the dramatic victory with that knockdown in the 12th.
I see this fight going similarly - Haney via unanimous decision to retain his belt, but if that 2012 fight is any harbinger, Ryan will keep it interesting and even make a run for it at the end. Is Ryan crazy, or crazy like a fox as Jim would say? Time for the walkouts and first bell!
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