The intrigue over how the New York Times Square tripleheader boxing card will play out on May 2 is hooked to all the questions attached to each fighter:

Is Ryan Garcia OK?

Can Rolando “Rolly” Romero handle Garcia’s left hook?

Is Devin Haney a faded version of his former self?

Is Teofimo Lopez Jnr going to fight as he did against Vasiliy Lomachenko or will he revert to his disastrous George Kambosos Jnr showing?

On Friday’s edition of ProBox TV’s “BoxingScene Today,” analysts Chris Algieri and Paulie Malignaggi sized up promoter Oscar De La Hoya’s comments to BoxingScene regarding the possibility of posting a hat trick of victories by his fighters – Garcia versus Romero, Jose Ramirez Jnr versus Haney and Arnold Barboza Jnr versus WBO 140lbs titleholder Lopez.

“It depends on which version of Teofimo shows up,” former 140lbs champion Algieri said, noting that interim belt holder Barboza, 32-0 (11 KOs), finally landed his shot at Lopez, 21-1 (13 KOs), after waiting for him for years as a Top Rank teammate.

“The Teofimo who shows up less than ready is probably going to lose to Barboza. [Barboza] wins by a hair and doesn’t care. That’s the Barboza style,” Algieri said. “If Teofimo underestimates him, he could very well lose.”

Added Malignaggi: “Barboza consistently survives and advances. Teofimo’s consistency is that he’s super-inconsistent. You talk about an enigma. … He can look like the best fighter you’ve ever seen and a guy who you wonder if he just put gloves on a week ago.”

Algieri, as most bettors agree, said, “I’m certainly leaning toward Devin Haney” against former unified 140lbs champion Ramirez based on the latter’s November loss to Barboza by a narrow decision.

“His feet being a little stuck in the mud, slow to pull the trigger, inactivity over the years,” Algieri said. “But then again, people like Mikey Garcia [brother of Ramirez trainer Robert Garcia] are saying Devin Haney’s making a mistake fighting a power puncher,” following the three knockdowns he absorbed in last April’s no-contest versus Garcia.

“You may still favor Haney here, but coming off a fight where he got dropped a few times, what’s his confidence? His punch resistance? What if Ramirez lands that shot? It builds interest in the fight, and that’s what you need … there’s inconsistencies everywhere. It makes you want to watch it. Any of these guys can be stars if the cards fall right that night.”

Malignaggi said he wouldn’t be “crazy-shocked” if De La Hoya’s trio win their fights, “but I don’t expect it.”

Both former world titlists were asked if they had $10,000 to bet on one of the underdogs, which they would choose. Malignaggi took Barboza. Algieri said Ramirez, because “he’s not killing himself to make 140 anymore, he’s not shot [at age 32] and he has a good left hook and sharp jab.”

Regarding this weekend’s heavyweight main events pitting Filip Hrgovic, 17-1 (14 KOs), versus Joe Joyce, 16-3 (15 KOs), in Manchester, England, on DAZN, and Richard Torrez Jnr, 12-0 (11 KOs), versus Guido Vianello, 13-2-1 (11 KOs), in Las Vegas on ESPN+, the division’s appeal makes both bouts meaningful.

“Joe Joyce has two bad losses to [China’s Zhilei] Zhang, but Hrgovic lost to [new IBF champion Daniel] Dubois. … It’s two guys trying to claim land,” Algieri said. “Joe Joyce has seen better days, to put it nicely.”

To which Malignaggi replied that the dynamic gives it the potential “to be a fun fight. How will Hrgovic show up in his return? Joyce sounds shot. If you’ve heard him talk, it’s kind of sad.”

It’s sound career management by Hrgovic’s manager, Keith Connolly.

“If he blows away Joyce, you can be back into the mix, saying your only loss is to the heavyweight champion.”

Perhaps the winners of both fights can meet each other. While Hrgovic and Joyce – who previously stopped Dubois – have fought at the heights of the division, Torrez and Vianello are climbing the ranks.

Since the heavyweights are the weight class of choice on the lucrative Saudi Arabia-sponsored cards, they all must remain “ready for that call,” as February 22 replacement fighter Martin Bakole was, getting knocked out by Joseph Parker after agreeing to replace Dubois on less than two days’ notice.

“You can literally get off your couch and get an opportunity,” Malignaggi said.

Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.