THE Devin Haney-Ryan Garcia fight, scheduled for April 20, should be cancelled. Both on the press convention to announce the fight and, extra prominently, on social media, Garcia has been displaying alarmingly erratic behaviour. At the presser he was fidgety, on edge and finally simply far and wide. On social media, the place he’s at all times very energetic, he has been posting weird messages, taking goal in any respect types of individuals each out and in of boxing.
Then, a number of days in the past, a six-second video – seemingly taken from inside Garcia’s dwelling – was posted from his account with a message claiming that he had been murdered. At the time of writing, there was no phrase from Garcia or his representatives, although his ex-wife, Andrea Celina, took to her personal social media account to say she had been in touch with him.
“We are not together and I’ve been in contact with him and he may seem fine but he is not. I know in my heart he is being heavily oppressed. This is not a troll, I’m genuinely concerned and so is all his family members [sic]. We are not part of any of this and want him to get better but this IS REAL. Pray for him,” she wrote.
She offered no additional clarification on what she was referring to as “real” however Ryan’s father, Henry Garcia, responded to a touch upon considered one of his personal Instagram posts and claimed that his son is “just trolling in the wrong way.”
While this appears to verify the excellent news that Garcia has not been murdered, it means that the 25-year-old is deeply troubled for the time being. It doesn’t seem that Garcia’s social media accounts had been hacked, as some have speculated, which implies he orchestrated the posts claiming his throat had been slit himself. No one in a wholesome way of thinking would try this.
There is not any want for us, as full outsiders, to attempt to decide what precisely is flawed with Garcia however there may be sufficient proof to counsel there may be one thing flawed. Enough flawed that he should be looking for skilled assist and help, moderately than being punched within the head. Someone – be it from Garcia’s group, a governing physique or these organising the fight with Haney – must step in and cancel the competition.
It would possibly appear to be a drastic step, however the welfare of the fighters should come first. Just have a look at what occurred with Oliver McCall. In 1997, he had what we now know should have been a psychological breakdown within the ring throughout his fight with Lennox Lewis, which noticed him burst into tears and refuse to proceed combating. Months later his spouse took out an emergency custody order towards him and he was finally hospitalised on account of psychological sickness.
At the very least, Garcia should be assessed by a psychiatrist. In all honesty, given the inherent risks of the game, that should be a prerequisite for all fighters so as to preserve their licences, however that’s a dialogue for an additional time. If an neutral psychological well being skilled deems Garcia to be mentally wholesome and match to fight, we couldn’t argue with that. On the opposite hand, in the event that they had been to boost considerations over his psychological well being, there would be simple grounds for cancelling the fight.
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After experiences emerged that Canelo Alvarez and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) had mutually agreed to finish their promotional partnership early, it seems that – in response to ESPN no less than – that may not be the case.
It appears as if Canelo will be combating Jaime Munguia on May 4, with ESPN reporting that PBC – and its new broadcast accomplice, Amazon Prime – will nonetheless be concerned.
If that’s the case, it’s in all probability the very best information we might have hoped for. The fight that followers need most for Canelo is towards David Benavidez, however it has already been made clear by quite a few sources that the pair gained’t be assembly subsequent. As Benavidez is aligned with PBC, the preliminary experiences that Canelo had moved on from the promotional outfit all however killed off any hopes of the fight taking place within the close to future.
Now that it seems Canelo just isn’t actually leaving PBC, the prospect of a Benavidez fight stays alive. There’s a really actual likelihood that Alvarez fights Munguia in May and, should he win, go on to face Benavidez in September. That would be beautiful.
What would be even higher is that if Canelo had been to shock everybody and announce that he’s getting straight to the purpose and combating Benavidez in May. It’s unlikely, however we are able to hope.
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
It will be attention-grabbing to see how the case of Dillian Whyte is dealt with by the media and acquired by followers. At the time of writing, information just lately got here from Sky Sports that Whyte has been cleared to proceed his profession after an investigation confirmed {that a} constructive medicine check from final 12 months was attributable to a contaminated complement.
The article breaking the information doesn’t affirm which organisation ran the investigation, however reveals that the main forensic professional concerned concluded: “[M]y expert view is that Mr. Whyte was the victim of a contaminated supplement that did not disclose [the contaminant] among its ingredients and he did not ingest the [contaminant] intentionally.”
Whyte has remained silent since information of the constructive check got here out and, on this interview with Sky, confirms that was just because he was permitting the investigation course of to be carried out earlier than he spoke on it. A smart transfer and one which some might study from.
As issues stand we don’t know the place Whyte’s profession will go from right here. He was scheduled to rematch Anthony Joshua when the constructive medicine check was revealed.
Boxing on the Box
March 8
Anthony Joshua-Francis Ngannou
Sky Sports Box Office & DAZN PPV
Coverage begins at 3pm
March 9
Kevin Lele Sadjo-Giovanni De Carolis
DAZN
Coverage begins at TBC
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