WBC screws Devin Haney with ordering of Ryan Garcia vs Joseph Diaz
There is a love and hate relationship that is going on in boxing today. Fans love the sport but hate the politics that are ruining the sport from the inside. An example of this is the WBC ordering a final eliminator between Interim lightweight champion Joseph “Jo Jo” Diaz and Ryan “KingRy” Garcia, essentially leaving WBC champion Devin “The Dream” Haney out in the cold.
THE MANDATORY THAT HAS GONE NOWHERE
We will start with the case of Garcia (21-0, 18ko). KingRy was originally the mandatory challenger after defeating Luke Campbell for the interim title, back on January 2. However, immediately after the fight, he called for a fight with three-division champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
Garcia would change up again, next pursuing the legendary Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, who has announced his retirement. When that did not go according to plan, KingRy was ordered to fight former WBA ‘regular’ junior lightweight champion Javier Fortuna. However, he would pull out of the fight to take some time off due to mental health issues.
This prompted the WBC to take back the interim title along with the mandatory status. Instead, they put it up for grabs with Diaz (32-1-1, 15ko) taking on Fortuna. Jo Jo was victorious and seemed to be a breath of fresh air, immediately calling for a fight with Haney. The two would engage in a heated back-and-forth on social media, with him demanding an end-of-the-year fight.
“Shut yo goofy ass up and let’s fight by the end of this year pussy.”
AN UNNECESSARY TITLE ELIMINATOR
Well, Diaz did not take long to shift gears. He soon began looking for an in-house fight with fellow Golden Boy Promotions fighter Ryan Garcia. His social media timeline has been more about the KingRy fight to the point that fans started going after Diaz for not fighting for the championship.
This is the “hate” part of the sport. The WBC has ordered a slew of mandatory fights. Of course, one of them is Joseph Diaz and Ryan Garcia to fight in a final eliminator to determine the true mandatory challenger for the WBC title.
This is confusing simply because once Garcia took time off, it disqualified him from the mandatory position. It is why the WBC ordered Diaz and Fortuna for the vacant interim title. Even the Dream was puzzled by this move that literally came out of nowhere.
Why would the WBC make a move like this? Does it not make more sense to order Haney to defend the title against the actual mandatory in Diaz? In this author’s personal opinion, it is nothing more than the WBC bending to the demand of Golden Boy Promotions. Before anyone is quick to deny this, let’s take a walk down memory lane. Fresh in memory is the cowardly way they handled the failed VADA test for a banned stimulant by WBC featherweight champion Oscar Valdez.
Furthermore, Devin Haney is getting screwed in the process by missing out on high-profile fights. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the winner will even fight for the championship next, given how the WBC has not followed its guidelines.
By: Garrisson Bland
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