Ryan Garcia fights Devin Haney tonight, but a rule in professional boxing means that he will not be able to take Haney’s championship even if he wins.
Haney is the WBC super lightweight champion after beating Regis Prograis last year, and he agreed to his first title defence against Garcia after years of speculation that the two could meet in the ring.
As super lightweight champion, all fights have to take place with both boxers coming in at or under 140lbs in order to be eligible to win the belt.
There are a number of permutations of what could have happened, and we’ll explain the effects of each situation, as well as the one that took place yesterday.
What would happen if both Haney and Garcia weighed more than 140lbs?
If both fighters came in over 140lbs, then neither fighter would win the belt in any outcome, and the belt would become vacant. The fight could go ahead and any win or loss would go on their record.
What would happen if Haney was over 140lbs but Garcia was under?
Had Haney not made weight, he would have been stripped by the WBC, and even if he had won, he would lose the belt.
In this situation, a win for Garcia would have earned him the world title, but a loss would not have seen him win the belt.
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