The Garcia Report

Author: George Garcia

  • Is Turki ruining boxing?

    Turki Al-Sheikh has been heavily involved with the boxing scene and has become a prominent figure in the sport. But the question posed is, is he ruining the sport of boxing?

    I think no. Rolly Romero says yes, and he has a point! The money that Turki is bringing in is causing big name fighters to sign big fight contracts. Household names are fighting other household names, so what can be the issue?

    The issue is, according to Rolly Romero, that Turki is scheduling fights with pre-meditated expectations/outcomes. Resulting in a lack of promotion for the “B” fighter. In the case of Ryan Garcia vs. Rolly Romero, Rolly felt like they were overlooking him, and solely promoting Garcia, angling Garcia in the media to set up a “mega-fight” rematch between Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney. Romero expressed that the promotion also stunted Jose Ramirez, instead of help promote him.

    Essentially, Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney showed up in New York City with a guaranteed fat pay check, and another guaranteed fat pay check if they were able to walk away with their hands raised in their bouts against Romero and Ramirez. The issue? According to Romero, this leaves fighters with nothing to fight for, they’re not hungry to put on a show for the fans because their checks are already written.

    In my opinion, I see where Rolly Romero is coming from, and I think that presenting fighters with lots of guaranteed money can have an impact on their training leading up to the fight, but I don’t think Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney make good examples, nor do they accurately represent the term “Fighter”

    What I mean by that is, when I think about Ryan Garcia I don’t think “Fighter” I think… Immature attention seeker with a great left hook. When I think about Devin Haney, I don’t think “Fighter” I think about a slick, cat and mouse, boxer who should’ve never had his hand raised against Vasyl Lomachenko. Devin’s biggest achievement in the sport is a fight that he never won. Reminds me of when Timothy Bradley “won” against Manny Pacquiao. The reason why they make bad examples is because this is Garcia’s first fight back after being popped for PED’s. (I think this was truly overlooked by the media) For Haney, this is the first fight back after being knocked out and beaten badly by a raging… Ryan Garcia on… PED’s! (In Haney’s defense, it was a wise move planning to be untouched throughout 12 rounds. Incredibly boring, but wise) This all led to a rather poor performance by both fighters.

    Although Romero has a point, in defense for Turki, I believe he’s actively keeping the sport of boxing alive. It’s not his fault that Haney, Garcia, and the Canelo fights were lackluster. Styles truly make fights, and Haney’s style isn’t intriguing. Perhaps he can stir the ship of public opinion like Belal Muhammad did with his latest fight in the UFC against Jack Della Maddelena, but we’ll just have to wait and see if Haney can make the switch.

    That being said, the current state of boxing is an exciting one! We have many great fights lined up for this year, and Crawford vs. Canelo is a few months away.

    My prediction? Canelo walks away with his hand raised… And we have Turki to thank, for making these types of fights happen.

  • Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs William Scull. Cinco de Mayo weekend.

    On May 3rd, 2025, Canelo earned a decision victory over William Scull. The fight itself was lackluster, and was reminiscent of the Devin Haney fight the night before in NYC (Against Jose Ramirez) In this case, William Scull was playing the role of Haney, running around the ring. Canelo played the role of Ramirez, a man on the hunt.

    The difference here is, as fight fans we know the punching power in which Canelo carries. A knockout punch can land at any moment of the fight. Billy Joe Saunders was giving Alvarez a lot of problems via footwork, snapping jabs, and slick head movement. Canelo was still able to close the show out and overcome these adversities in the 8th round with a signature uppercut that broke Saunder’s orbital bone, ultimately leading to him to retire from the sport.

    William Skull, being from Cuba, has fantastic footwork, conditioning, speed and power. However, there’s a difference between outboxing your opponent and simply running away. The biggest fight of his career, a chance to make fight fans fall in love with his style, and he chose the safe route.

    Although what felt like seldom throughout the fight, when Canelo did land, his punches landed with a tremendous amount of power, specifically to the body of Skull. Hooks, crosses, and jabs were constantly finding the target for Canelo when he was able to cut the ring off and force Skull to plant his feet for a few seconds. This ultimately resulted in Canelo earning the victory over Scull.

    Turki Al-Sheikh unveiled a glorious new championship belt coveted with gold, while still retaining that classic look. Terrance Crawford and Saul Canelo Alvarez are set up to have a bout in September at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Although this weekend undoubtedly let boxing fans down, I don’t think Turki is to blame.

    Nobody should be complaining about the Saudi money that is reigniting the sport of boxing, causing the best to fight the best. In the end, styles make fights, and Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, and William Scull all had similar styles on May 2nd/3rd. Boring style.

  • “Fatal Fury” Did it help save boxing or did it help plunge it deeper into despair?

    On May 2nd, 2025, boxing enthusiasts across the world were excited to tune into a triple header. Ryan Garcia vs. Rolly Romero. Devin Haney vs. Jose Ramirez. And Teofimo Lopez vs. Arnold Barboza Jr.

    The names of all of these men on one card is an amazing sight to see on paper. Finally, after decades of watching cherry pickers, we’re entering a new era of boxing where the best face off against the best. Multiple household names under the same roof? Live in New York City under the bright lights of Time’s Square, surely this can’t fail right?

    Unfortunately, three men failed to walk away with a victory, and so did every customer who paid for the broadcast. Fans felt morally defeated after having to watch a 12 round “Fight” between Devin Haney and Jose Ramirez. A true snooze fest was put on display, and even the bright lights of New York City weren’t bright enough to keep people’s eyes open during this bout. Devin Haney simply outran Ramirez for a U.D. victory, and Jose let him. Jose chased Devin around the ring, was never able to cut him off, and was never able to throw his coveted combinations. Devin on the other hand, put on a masterclass performance, reminiscent of Dale Earnhardt, round and round around the ring danced Haney. Terrible fight to watch.

    Rolly Romero and Teofimo Lopez both looked great in their bouts. Romero was able to pull off the stunning victory over Ryan Garcia! A +700 underdog in many books was Romero. Moving up to 147lbs benefited him, versus Garcia looked negatively affected by the change of weight. Ryan Garcia was knocked down in the second round and seemed to lose his confidence for the rest of the fight.

    Ryan Garcia had great success with his jab, frequently snapping Romero’s head back, however, Romero kept throwing a beautiful jab to Garcia’s body, over and over again. This was the key to the fight right here, Garcia’s inability to parry, block, or disrupt Romero’s jab to the body cost Garcia this fight. Along with the second round knockdown of course. In the end, this fight was a joy to watch due to Romero being such a big underdog, but there wasn’t as much action as fans had previously hoped for.

    Overall, May 2nd 2025 helped saved boxing. We’re seeing a newfound wave of love and money being thrown boxing’s way via Turki Alashikh. He’s putting on cards with household names riddled throughout, not just the main event. This is causing boxing to actually compete with the UFC. However, “Fighters” like Devin Haney are ruining the sport entertainment aspect for fight fans.