Ryan Garcia scored the upset of the year, so far, with his dramatic 12-round majority decision over Devin Haney on April 20 in Brooklyn, New York. The Gen-Z star secured the points victory by repeatedly stunning the game-but-outgunned odds favorite and scoring three official knockdowns, however, the performance of his career was marred by his missing weight for what was supposed to be Haney’s first defense of the WBC 140-pound belt. 

Haney (31-1, 15 KOs), who entered the anticipated pay-per-view main event as The Ring’s No. 1-rated junior welterweight and No. 6 in the pound-for-pound rankings, made the junior welterweight division limit of 140 pounds. 

Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) weighed in at a career heavy 143.25. The 25-year-old Californian had been in The Ring’s lightweight rankings, but was dropped after his December bout with Oscar Duarte, which was supposed to be a junior welterweight bout but was contested at 143-pound catchweight when Garcia was unable (or unwilling) to boil down to 140. His days of making lightweight or junior welterweight are clearly behind him.

Photo by Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy

So, how do we interpret Garcia’s victory in terms of the 140-pound rankings? He beat the top-rated junior welterweight but did so as a welterweight. Garcia admitted that he can no longer make 140 pounds during the post-fight press conference, so should he be considered for a welterweight ranking?

One Ring Ratings Panel member theorized that Garcia could beat our current No. 10-rated welterweight, but in truth, he’s never fought a welterweight.

And what of the pound-for-pound rankings? Garcia beat a pound-for-pound rated boxer, but he bent the rules to do so. What of Haney’s P4P ranking? Going into the fight, Haney described Garcia as a “C-level fighter” and a “one-trick pony” and most fans and media agreed. The oddsmakers that made Haney as much as a -1100 favorite certainly agreed.

So, if the “one-trick pony” repeatedly nails the pound-for-pound player with his one trick (the check left hook), is he really an elite boxer? Can a supposedly A-level fighter remain at the A-level if he’s defeated by a C-level fighter?

Let’s start with the Panel’s thoughts on Haney’s and Garcia’s place in junior welterweight rankings.

“With Garcia missing weight it’s tough for us to put him in the top 10,” said Anson Wainwright. “I guess we just drop Haney? I would suggest to No. 3 behind Josh Taylor and Subriel Matias.”

Adam Abramowitz called the 140-pound situation “a mess,” asking “How do we rank Garcia?  

“Garcia kind of has to be ranked ahead of Haney doesn’t he at 140?

“If not, then we don’t move Haney down. This is either a junior welterweight fight or it wasn’t?  

“I’m going to hold my nose and have Garcia at No. 3 and Haney at No. 4.”

Tris Dixon suggested keeping Haney at No. 1. Tom Gray agreed and added the suggestion of keeping Garcia out of the junior welterweight rankings.

“The decision not to rate Garcia isn’t tough at all,” said Gray. “If he wants to be rated, then he needs to make the weight. This is the bad part of Garcia’s victory because I think he’ll do this kind of thing again. He’s just posted a career-best victory after flouncing the weight. It’s almost like he’s trying to be a trendsetter, so don’t be surprised if this kind of thing happens more often in big fights. 

“Garcia doesn’t get rated. It’s on him, it’s not on us. He fought a great fight, no denying it, but he didn’t follow the rules.

“Do you drop Devin at 140? The more I think about it… nope.”

Your favorite Editor-In-Chief agreed with Dixon and Gray:

“I’m leaning toward Tom’s and Tris’ suggestion to keep Haney at No. 1. I thought Haney boxed a poor fight, but he made 140 and technically fought a welterweight. Even though Ryan won a narrow decision (which I think was the right call), it wasn’t an even playing field.”

Added Jake Donovan: “I agree with the majority that Garcia missing weight invalidates this as a 140-eligible fight. Additionally, Garcia has not won at/below 140 since July 2022. This is the second straight fight where he blew weight and by a lot, and specified during the post fight presser he’s moving up to 147 (though of course that remains to be seen). Can’t justify [Josh] Taylor moving back to No. 1 – his last non-debatable win was May 2021. He’s a horrible No. 2, if we’re being honest, but can’t randomly change that.”

Added Michael Montero: “Can’t rank Garcia because he hasn’t made the weight in his last two fights. He says he will campaign at welterweight from now on. Technically, his last two wins were at welterweight – does that warrant a rating at 147-pounds? I know this, I’d favor Garcia over Roiman Villa (currently No.10) if they fought next. In regards to Haney, I’m good with leaving him at No.1 for now. Both Taylor and Matias have upcoming bouts, and the results may very well affect the 140 ratings.”

Devin Haney remains WBC 140-pound titleholder and No. 1 in The Ring’s junior welterweight rankings despite his loss to Ryan Garcia. Photo: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy Promotions

More on the 140-pound rankings as it pertains to the controversial Arnold Barboza–Sean McComb fight later. For now, let’s move to the mythical ratings.

Wainwright suggested dropping Haney from the pound-for-pound top 10 and bringing in undefeated bantamweight beltholder Junto Nakatani (27-0, 20 KOs), a three-division world titleholder.

That suggestion was immediately agreed upon by the majority of the Panel. However, Daisuke Sugiura, didn’t feel right about the decision and asked the Panel for more thoughts on the matter.

“Well, I basically agree with Nakatani in, Haney out,” Sugiura said. “But isn’t it a little too harsh for Haney if we declare it wasn’t an even playing field and still take him out from P4P completely? 

“I mean, I do think it was unfair, even if Haney was the one who decided to go ahead [with the fight]. Good people in my country are still mad at Garcia. They thought Garcia had more of a power advantage than he was supposed to [have] because he didn’t try to cut the weight. Impossible to know how it affected his performance and this fight. Haney didn’t fight well, sure, I was disappointed, but he was severely hurt by a powerful left hook from a 3.2 pounds overweight fighter. 

“Again, I don’t disagree with taking Haney out for now, but I’m still trying to convince myself. I’d like to hear other people’s opinions a little more.”

The EIC gave his two cents in response:

“Hey Daisuke, we’re not rewarding Garcia for breaking the rules/being unprofessional. He’s not entering the P4P or junior welterweight rankings. And we’re not penalizing Haney’s junior welterweight ranking. When Ryan came in over the junior welterweight limit the fight became a non-title welterweight bout. So, Haney remains No. 1 at 140.

“HOWEVER, in terms of the pound for pound, Haney underperformed and I don’t think we can blame it all on what the fighters weighed in at or how much they rehydrated. Haney was repeatedly caught with the same punch from a boxer that he’s not only familiar with, but one that lacks a solid boxing foundation and has A LOT of technical flaws. Pound for pound-level boxers generally do not get caught with shots like that, and if they do early in the bout the truly elite fighters make the necessary adjustments and find a way to win. Haney couldn’t do that.”

Photo by Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy

Sugiura thanked the EIC for the response and Abramowitz said it was “well put,” however, Donovan had second thoughts about dropping Haney following Sugiura’s questions.

“Daisuke’s reply made me revisit my initial hesitation to remove Devin from P4P,” said Donovan. “This is my first time voting on the pound-for-pound since coming aboard. Just double checked the rankings and didn’t realize this panel still has Errol Spence in the top 10. 

“Removing Haney means Errol now moves up to No. 7. As much as I’d like to see Junto crack the top 10, it’s hard(er) to justify that part of this move. I’m sure I’ll be the minority opinion on this one but I’m no longer in support of removing Devin.”

Replied Abramowitz: “Haney’s loss has to be reflected in some fashion. We can’t ignore it. I think Doug said it well. Haney lost a fight as a huge favorite. I’m sorry, that’s not the essence of P4P. And it’s not like Haney was fighting [Terence] Crawford.”

Replied Donovan: “I would agree under any other circumstances. And like I said, I know I’ll be the only one with this take which means he’ll exit anyway. I just don’t see present day Errol as the 7th best fighter in the world, which will now be the case on Tuesday. So be it. You guys had Lomachenko in the top 10 for an absurdly long time.”  

Replied Abramowitz: “Spence was dropped from where he was. Correspondingly, Haney should be dropped from where he is too. Spence just started from a higher position.” 

Concluded Gray: “Pound for pound is ass at the best of times, but this is the worst of times. The reason Spence looks out of place on this list is because we haven’t seen him for eight months, and the last time we did see him he was being humiliated by Crawford. This is the downside of fighters being ludicrously inactive.

“However, there is no precedent for a TOP pound-for-pound entrant to drop off the list when they suffer their first loss to another TOP pound-for-pound entrant. Toney stayed on immediately after Jones beat him in ‘94 and dropped after the Griffin loss in early ‘95. Jones stayed on after Tarver knocked him out and finally dropped off after Glen Johnson repeated the dosage.

“With that being the case, Spence should remain on for now. He’s a former unified champ who has lost once in 29 starts (twice if you include the Ferrari). It’s either that or we become more reactive because of fighter inactivity. I suggested that we COULD do that a while back. A lot of times the list ends up in a time warp because fighters don’t fight. That’s not our fault, but we have the choice of changing the approach.

“The case with Devin Haney is more complex. Garcia needs to be penalized for missing weight, both in terms of pound for pound and at super lightweight. But I think Haney needs to fall off for one reason only. How many people switched their pick to Garcia because he weighed in heavy? Nobody gave a shit, so let’s not rewrite history. Haney lost to an 8-1 underdog – not a pound for pound entrant – because he fought a poor tactical fight and was repeatedly nailed by killer left hooks. It was a terrible performance against a guy who was given next to no chance by fans, media and oddsmakers. FACTS!”

The Scotsman has spoken.

Junto Nakatani, the winner of the 2023 KO of the Year, scored another thrilling stoppage against veteran Alejandro Santiago. Photo Naoki Fukuda / Top Rank

Now let’s move to the Barbosa-McComb fight. Nobody on the Panel thought Barbosa (30-0, 11 KOs) performed well or deserved the 10-round split decision he was awarded by the official judges.

“Arnold Barboza wasn’t convincing but narrowly beat Sean McComb by 10-round majority decision,” noted Anson. “I’d suggest dropping him a place if it wasn’t for Gary Antunanne Russell’s inactivity.”

Abramowitz suggested the Panel take more action.

“We should invoke the robbery clause for the Barboza-McComb fight,” he said. “I did not have one single person having Barboza winning. I would drop Barboza from the rankings.”

Donovan agreed with Abramowitz.

“I agree with Adam that the robbery clause should apply to Barboza-McComb and that Barboza should exit. I certainly wouldn’t put McComb any higher than ten, though, and that’s if he’s the one who enters.”

Abraham Gonzalez agreed and was OK with McComb entering the rankings.

“I agree to drop Barboza,” he said. “He had an awful night and put McComb at 10.”

Wasim Mather followed Gonzalez’s suggestion.

“Barboza underperformed and in my opinion never took home the win,” he said. “Bring in McComb at No.10.” 

Wainwright didn’t view McComb as the next junior welterweight in The Ring’s top 10.

“I’m fine with Barboza coming out but wouldn’t bring in McComb,” he said. “140 is deep and would look elsewhere first. Isaac Cruz, Kenneth Sims Jr., Steve Claggett off the top of my head, all have superior resumes to McComb, who to me is just British level.”

Gray wasn’t convinced that the trio Wainwright mentioned were indeed more worthy of a ranking.

“This is a tough one,” he said. “If McComb gets that decision (and even Stevie Wonder had him winning), then he beats our No. 8 rated 140 pounder. That’s more than Cruz (despite being WBA champ), Sims and Claggett have done. And while you can have an opinion on a fighter’s ceiling, that’s irrelevant here. I’d pick Cruz to feast on McComb’s bones in three rounds or less, but none of us have infallible records (see Haney-Garcia Fight Picks minus Diego). We go on results and McComb was absolutely and utterly stitched up. 

“It’s how seriously we take judging incompetence or possible corruption. I’m cool either way, but I feel sorry for the kid.”

The EIC sought clarity from the Panel regarding the Barboza-McComb issue:

“So, are you guys in favor of (or mostly in favor of) dropping Arnold Barbosa and bringing in Sean McComb (at No. 10)?

“Or do you think there’s a more worthy No. 10-rated junior welterweight, such as Lindolfo Delgato, Dalton Smith or Liam Paro?”

Delgato (20-0, 15 KOs), the Robert Garcia-trained Mexico native, fresh off a seventh round KO of rugged countryman Carlos Sanchez, received the majority of support.

In other Ring Ratings news, the month of April kicked off after a Saturday that seriously shook up the junior middleweight division.

Sebastian Fundora, who had been The Ring’s No. 3-rated junior middleweight, upset top-rated Tim Tszyu as a late substitute via bloody split decision in the main event to the PBC’s maiden PPV voyage with new broadcast partner Amazon Prime on March 30. Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs), who hadn’t fought since suffering a KO loss to Brian Mendoza, was originally scheduled to face Serhii Bohachuk in the PPV opener, but when Tszyu’s original opponent, Keith Thurman, fell out due to a training injury, the Australian star accepted the 6-foot-6 Fundora as his new opponent. It was a risky decision that saved the PBC’s main event, but also delivered Tszyu his most difficult fight when, at the end of Round 2, a clash with Fundora’s elbow opened a horrific gash on top of his scalp that bleed profusely throughout the 12-round title bout for his WBO belt and the vacant WBC strap.

Photo by Esther Lin

Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) boldly fought through the blinding blood flow, while Fundora bravely fought (and boxed) through a broken, badly bleeding nose suffered in the opening rounds. Fundora’s points win vaulted him to No. 1 in The Ring’s rankings.

On the undercard, Bohachuk (24-1, 23 KOs), who had been The Ring’s No. 10-rated junior middleweight, brutally worked over Mendoza (22-4, 16 KOs), who had been rated No. 2, to a lopsided 12-round unanimous decision. The victory over the tough-but-outworked veteran lifted the once-beaten Ukrainian pressure fighter to a No. 4 ranking. Mendoza, dropped to No. 7.

One week later, Bakhram Murtazaliev (22-0, 16 KOs) entered the rankings at No. 10 with a dramatic, come-from-behind 11th-round stoppage of Jack Culcay (who had held that spot in the Ring rankings).

Okay, that’s enough preamble, let’s get to the ratings changes from March 30 to April 20.

RING RATINGS UPDATE (as of April 20):

POUND FOR POUND – Haney exits. Nakatani enters at No. 10.

“Haney didn’t look pound-for-pound worthy [vs. Garcia],” noted Gray. “His defense to the left hook was non-existent and the overall performance was very poor. Maybe his competitive juices dried up because Garcia was acting out, but it’s up to him to stay focussed. Despite remaining WBC champ, his reputation has taken a battering. Yeah, I need to roll with Anson; Nakatani as the next guy in makes sense.”

Added Montero: “I completely agree that Devin Haney should be removed and we bring Nakatani in. I’m not sure Haney was ever pound-for-pound, honestly. The truth is, he’s had a significant size/weight advantage in most of his fights. That’s kinda the antithesis of what P4P is supposed to be all about.”

HEAVYWEIGHT – Jared Anderson remains at No. 7 after a 10-round unanimous decision over Ryad Merhy.

CRUISERWEIGHT – Gilberto Ramirez advances to No. 5 after scoring a unanimous decision over Arsen Goulamirian, who drops to No. 7. 

Ramirez vs. Goulamirian. Photo by Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy Promotions

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT – Vladimir Shishkin remained at No. 7 following his seventh-round stoppage of Mike Guy but was pushed back a spot by Diego Pacheco, who advanced to No. 7 after his 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Shawn McCalman.

“Sergey Derevyanchenko won a shutout 10-round decision over Vaughn Alexander,” noted Wainwright. “Bektemir Melikuziev suffered a horrible cut but won an eighth-round technical decision over Pierre DiBombe. Did either Derevyanchenko or ‘Bek the Bully’ do enough to take the No. 10 slot from Edgar Berlanga?”

Dixon and Morilla thought Derevyanchenko was worthy of the No. 10 spot but the majority of the Panel wanted to keep Berlanga where he is.

MIDDLEWEIGHT – Erislandy Lara remains at No. 3 following his second-round KO of Michael Zerafa.

JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT – Fundora advances to No. 1. Tszyu drops to No. 2. Bohachuk advances to No. 4. Mendoza drops to No. 7. Murtazaliev enters at No. 10. Culcay exits. Charles Conwell advances to No. 8 after stopping veteran Nathaniel Gallimore in six rounds.

“Tszyu started fast but Fundora came on strong in the second half of their bloodbath to win the WBO and vacant WBC titles,” noted Wainwright. “Bohachuk was too strong and had Mendoza in retreat for much of the contest. I could see (Mendoza) lower [due to] wide losses to Tszyu and Bohochuk, but Soro and Conwell have not been active.”

Wainwright suggested Conwell move in front of Michel Soro, who previously held the No. 8 spot. Abramowitz didn’t think a victory over the faded Gallimore merited the move, however the majority of the Panel were in favor of Conwell leap-frogging Soro.

“I agree with Conwell jumping ahead of Soro ONLY due to recency,” said Donovan. “Soro was robbed vs. Kurbanov but that was almost a year ago and his last win before that was pre-pandemic. He fights May 31. If the opponent and performance warrant, he can move back ahead.” 

Conwell vs. Gallimore. Photo by Cris Esqueda-Golden Boy

WELTERWEIGHT – Alexis Rocha remains at No. 8 after his seventh-round stoppage of Frederick Lawson.

JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHT – Haney remains No. 1 due to the circumstance of his loss to Ryan Garcia. Richardson Hitchins remains at No. 6 following a somewhat controversial 12-round unanimous decision over former Ring-rated lightweight Gustavo Lemos.

“Hitchins was given all he could take by Lemos and won a little too handily on one of the scorecards,” noted Wainwright. “Perhaps keep Hitchens where he is?”

Answered Abramowitz: “I definitely wouldn’t move Hitchins up. I didn’t have him winning. No robbery, the 115-113 scores were conceivable.”

Added Gray: “I put a flutter on Lemos because I felt his style/aggression/durability would give Hitchins hell.

“I thought he just about edged it, but, as Adam said, no robbery.”

Added Sugiura: “I’m not overly comfortable if pretty much everyone, including myself, thought Lemos actually won but Hitchins is still ranked over him. But I also agree that it was a close fight, so I guess we need to respect the official decision. Hitchins remains where he is, I guess.”

“Rolando Romero was stopped in eight rounds by Isaac Cruz, who claimed the WBA title in the process,” noted Wainwright. “Cruz is now in the 11-15 range in a deep division.”

LIGHTWEIGHT – Isaac Cruz exits. Raymond Muratalla advances to No. 6 (on attrition) after his 10-round unanimous decision over veteran Xolisani Ndongeni. Russian veteran Zaur Abdullaev (19-1, 11 KOs) enters at No. 10.

“Sam Noakes shut out the ultra-durable Yvan Mendy by 12-round unanimous decision to win the European title,” noted Wainwright. “Noakes might be in and around the top 15 in a strong division.”

JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHT – Oscar Valdez advances to No. 4 off of his seventh-round stoppage of Liam Wilson. Robson Conceicao remains at No. 7 following his seventh-round stoppage of Jose Guardado (man, there were A LOT of seventh-round stoppages in the past 30 days!).

FEATHERWEIGHT – Ruben Villa remains at No. 10 following 10-round unanimous decision over Cristian Cruz.

JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHT – Elijah Pierce remains at No. 9 following his second-round KO of former 115- and 118-pound world title challenger Arthur Villanueva. Azat Hovhannisyan exits due to inactivity. San Antonio native Ramon Cardenas (25-1, 14 KOs) enters at No. 10.

JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHT – John Ramirez exits after losing a 12-round unanimous decision to Ring-rated flyweight David Jimenez, who enters at No. 10.

FLYWEIGHT – Julio Cesar Martinez remains at No. 3 following a razor-thin 12-round majority decision over previously unbeaten Angelino Cordova. Ricardo Sandoval remains at No. 8 following his eighth-round KO of Nicaraguan veteran and former world title challenger Carlos Buitrago. (Jimenez remains at No. 7.)

“Nice win for Galal Yafai who stopped Agustin Gauto in eight-rounds,” noted Wainwright. “Yafai seems to be in the 11-15 range.”

JUNIOR FLYWEIGHT – Miel Fajardo exits after dropping a 12-round unanimous decision to 23-year-old Thai standout Thanongsak Simsri (33-1, 30 KOs) enters at No. 10.

STRAWWEIGHT – Ginjiro Shigeoka advances to No. 1 after his second-round KO of Jake Amparo. Melvin Jerusalem jumps to No. 3 following his 12-round split decision over Yudai Shigeoka, who drops to No. 5. (Oscar Collazo, who stopped Jerusalem last May and recently dispatched Reyneris Gutierrez in three rounds, is pushed to No. 2 as a result of Jerusalem’s upset over Shigeoka.) Erick Rosa, now campaigning at junior flyweight, exits. Mexican standout Luis Castillo (21-0-1, 13 KOs) enters at No. 10.

Email Fischer at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter and IG at @dougiefischer, and join him, Tom Loeffler, Coach Schwartz and friends via Tom’s or Doug’s IG Live most Sundays.

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