Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney could be headed for upset losses on their shared May card in New York's Times Square. Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) takes on Isaac 'Pitbull' Cruz while Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) goes up against former WBC/WBO 140-lb champion Jose Ramirez on Turki Al-Sheikh's card.

Pruning effect

Ryan and Haney picked the wrong tune-up opponents to fight to end a 13-month layoff. 2012 Olympian Jose Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) and former WBA light welterweight champion Pitbull Cruz are not ideal opponents for either fighter to face after a year of inactivity. Those two would be a nightmare for Garcia and Devin, even if they were active.

If Kingry and Haney have good punch resistance and can hit the breadbasket, facing Ramirez and Cruz won't be a big deal. This is not the case. They are both fragile warriors who are broken in battle.

Garcia-Cruz will fight at welterweight at a catchweight of 143 or 144 and that suits the powerful 5’4″ Cruz (26-3-1, 18 KOs). In Pitbull's two fights at 140 against Jose 'Rayo' Valenzuela and Rolando 'Rally' Romero, he hit with more power.

Rayo probably would have been knocked out if he hadn't used his new Lomachenko-esque movement to avoid Cruz's constant pressure. Kingry does not have the same ability to move and will be forced to fight in closed quarters for three minutes of each round. If Ryan fails to hit Pitbull, he'll be in trouble.

50-50 fights

The Turk gave fans two great 50-50 fights with his Garcia-Cruz and Hany-Ramirez doubleheader in Times Square. If he's okay with Ryan and Devin potentially losing their fight, that's great. Al-Sheikh is already planning an October rematch for Garcia-Hani in Riyadh. That fight is going to be tainted if one or both lose their tune-up in May.

That's a better deal for fans at a PPV than feeding these two guys a can of tomatoes, as stretch cuts are customary for wealthy high-profile fighters.

Jose Ramirez lost a 10-round unanimous decision to highly ranked undefeated light welterweight contender Arnold Barboza Jr. on November 16th. That fight was competitive.

If Barboza Jr. had stayed still, he wouldn't have won because Ramirez held him when he was in the pocket. Devin doesn't have the same evasive style as Barboza, nor does he have the power. He won't be able to do the same things he did to fight Ramirez.