Ryan Garcia’s Catchweight Defense Overlooks Who Benefits

Boxing News 24 argues that Ryan Garcia's defense of catchweights overlooks how more popular fighters gain an unfair advantage during contract negotiations. While Garcia recently claimed on X that flexible limits are necessary to make big bouts happen, the outlet contends that marquee stars routinely leverage catchweights to impose unfavorable physical concessions on opposing contenders.

The article highlights Garcia's 2023 bout against Gervonta Davis as a key example of this dynamic. In that fight, Davis enforced a 136-pound limit and a 146-pound rehydration clause, which the writer claims demonstrates how rehydration stipulations and strict weight caps disproportionately drain one athlete before fight night.