Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia will face each other in October if they can win fights in May, according to The Ring.
Garcia dropped Haney three times en route to a decision win in April, but the result was overturned when “King Ryan” was found to have failed a drug test, leading him to be banned for 12 months.
And that was far from the only drama around the fight. Haney was scheduled to defend the WBC super-lightweight title that night, but Garcia was ineligible to take the belt after missing weight. Furthermore, Garcia’s pre-fight behaviour raised concerns over his mental health.
Still, a rematch is among the biggest fights in boxing right now, and it will take place in October, according to The Ring magazine – which is owned by Saudi adviser Turki Al-Sheikh, boxing’s most influential matchmaker. Furthermore, Al-Sheikh shared a photo on Thursday (16 January) of Garcia signing a contract.
Garcia’s ban expires in April, and the plan is for the 26-year-old and Haney, also 26, to box on the same card in May – but against different opponents. If the Americans win their fights, they will square off later in the year.
The May card is set to take place in the United States, while the October event would open Riyadh Season in Saudi Arabia.
A similar plan was in place in December 2023, when Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder boxed Otto Wallin and Joseph Parker on the same night. Joshua stopped Wallin, but moments earlier, Wilder had lost to Parker via decision. As a result, the planned Joshua vs Wilder fight collapsed.
Last week, Haney said in an interview with The Independent and Queensberry: “I want to make big fights happen, get back everything I lost in that fight [with Garcia], and more. I want the world to see I’m still a force to be reckoned with, I’m still one of the best fighters in the world, and that fight took nothing out of me. That’s important for me to prove to the world, prove to myself.”
Haney and Garcia previously fought one another six times as amateurs, winning three bouts each. After the result of their professional clash was changed to a No Contest, Haney was spared a first pro loss. Garcia, meanwhile, has lost once as a pro, suffering a stoppage defeat by Gervonta Davis in 2022.
