(Editor’s note: This story first published at Boxing Junkie, part of the USA TODAY Network.)

Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia have a lot in common but couldn’t be more different.

The fighters, who meet for Haney’s 140-pound title on pay-per-view Saturday in Brooklyn, are both 25 and talented. They’re both from California. They both had strong amateur careers, which included six fights against one another. Each of them won three times.

And they both have become popular professional fighters, with millions of dollars in their bank accounts as evidence of that.

So where are they different? Where do we start?

Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) is a two-division titleholder who has climbed onto pound-for-pound lists after a series of impressive victories over top-tier opponents, including a stunning shutout of Regis Prograis to win his belt in December.

The native of San Francisco has been successful in part because of his mental toughness and discipline, which have allowed him to take full advantage of talent. He could become No. 1 pound-for-pound one day.

Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) is at least as quick as Haney – probably quicker – and he definitely punches harder than his rival, as his knockout percentage indicates. He also has a few significant victories, most notably knockouts of Luke Campbell and Javier Fortuna.

However, unlike Haney, he failed the only time he faced a pound-for-pound-level opponent. Gervonta Davis stopped him with a body shot in the seventh round.

And, perhaps more significantly, Garcia, who has acknowledged mental health issues, seems to be as emotionally fragile as Haney is stable and tough. Many believe that weakness will be his undoing when they step through the ropes on Saturday night.

The social media star behaves erratically, taking bizarre shots at celebrities or claiming to know who killed rapper Tupac Shakur, to name two examples. He also posted an image of himself smoking what appeared to be marijuana only seven weeks before the fight, which he admitted was a mistake.

A red flag first went up for me the following day, at a news conference in Los Angeles, where he acknowledged that he’s flawed and that it can be difficult for a 25-year-old to handle stardom.

“Sometimes the weight of the world feels like it’s on my shoulders,” he said.

That undoubtedly is true but, at the same time, its a strange comment given that most fighters try to project strength, not weakness in the lead up to a fight.

Haney seemed to be sincere when he asked Garcia repeatedly at the news conference whether Garcia planned to show up for the fight. Garcia never responded, which was strange.

Is Garcia in trouble before he steps into the ring?

Well, Haney is about a 6½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets), which is a massive spread given Garcia’s pedigree. The oddsmakers obviously believe Haney’s combination of ability and laser focus will be too much for a mentally weak challenger.

Garcia could fool us. Again, he too, has ability and his own natural gifts. And he has overcome obstacles in the past.

For example, he got up from a knockdown to stop the capable Campbell, demonstrating that he can be resilient. And he returned from a difficult 15-month layoff – to deal with his mental challenges – to deliver strong performances against Emmanuel Tagoe and Fortuna.

Stranger things than a peculiar, seemingly distracted contender taking down a champion have happened in boxing.

For his part, Garcia insists that he has improved as a fighter after training with the respects Derrick James. And he suggested that there’s method to his madness.

“You can’t deny all the work that Derrick and I have put in either,” he said Wednesday. “My technique is better, my hands are up, the chin is down. What do you all have to say? The social media is all just noise. I post something and then people think I’m crazy.

“I know what I am doing.”

We’ll see.

This is an enormous challenge for him. Again, Haney has all the ability in the world and is as locked in as anyone in boxing. He’s rolling. We can only guess what Garcia is going to bring into the ring.

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Henry Cejudo doesn’t think Bo Nickal is quite ready for the top after UFC 300.

Nickal (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) remained unbeaten when he submitted Cody Brundage (10-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) in Round 2 of Saturday’s main card opener at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Nickal gave himself two thumbs down for his performance, but Cejudo still sees championship potential in the standout wrestler – just not right now.

“Don’t put that pressure on you, if you’re disappointed in your performance, because quite honestly, I do believe you could be a future champ at 185 pounds – but you are not ready for the top 10,” Cejudo said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Kamaru Usman. “If they put you up against big bodies like Marvin Vettori, who have good jiu-jitsu, big dudes and could also wrestle – even a guy like Paulo ‘Borrachinha’ (Costa) … I mean, he’s not quite ready for that top 10.

“I think at 185 pounds, he needs to go three rounds. He needs to understand that threshold because still him winning and beating these guys super early, if you want to be champion, how is it going to feel when you actually go five rounds against guys like Sean Strickland, Paulo ‘Borrachinha,’ Robert Whittaker, Jared Cannonier? That weight class is absolutely stacked. I think he needs to hold his horses. I think he’s still maybe 10 fights away from possibly becoming UFC champion.”

Nickal called out Anthony Hernandez, who’s on a five-fight winning streak and ranked No. 12 in the UFC’s middleweight rankings. He is scheduled to face Roman Dolidze at UFC 302 on June 1.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

The PFL regular season continues Friday with PFL 2024, Week 3, and all fights are now locked in after the official weigh-ins.

The event, which takes place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, features light heavyweights and lightweights in their first fights of the season.

In the main event, former Bellator welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov (27-4) makes his transition to the PFL against the unbeaten Magomed Umalatov (14-0). At featherweight, 2022 $1 million season winner Brendan Loughnane (27-5) missed the playoffs in 2023, but he’ll be looking for redemption when he takes on Bellator transfer Pedro Carvalho (13-8).

Only Laureano Staropoli (13-5) missed weight for his welterweight bout against Murad Ramazanov (11-0), and he missed badly. He’ll automatically lose a point in the standings as a penalty.

The 2024 PFL 3 weigh-in results included:

MAIN CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 9:30 p.m. ET)

• Andrey Koreshkov (170.6) vs. Magomed Umalatov (170.3)
• Brendan Loughnane (145.8) vs. Pedro Carvalho (145.6)
• Logan Storley (170.6) vs. Shamil Musaev (170.8)
• Gabriel Braga (145.4) vs. Justin Gonzales (145.4)
• Goiti Yamauchi (170.6) vs. Neiman Gracie (170.2)
• Bubba Jenkins (145.8) vs. Kai Kamaka (145.8)

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

• Adam Borics (145.8) vs. Enrique Barzola (146)
• Timur Khizriev (146) vs. Brett Johns (145.6)
• Laureano Staropoli (175.2)* vs. Murad Ramazanov (170.8)
• Don Madge (169.4) vs. Brennan Ward (170.6)
• Tyler Diamond (146) vs. Otto Rodrigues (145.2)
• Romain Debienne (170.4) vs. Thad Jean (170.8)

*Staropoli missed weight and automatically will lose a point in the standings. He also was fined 20 percent of his purse.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2024, Week 3.