Devin Haney remains keen on a rematch with Ryan Garcia, hoping to put an end to their bitter and controversial rivalry.
The pair first met back in April of 2024 in a contest that was supposed to be for Haney’s WBC super-lightweight world title. When Garcia failed to make weight, coming in a touch over 143lbs, the fight proceeded but the WBC title was no longer on the line for him.
His performance on the night was considered a career-best, dropping Haney three times to upset the odds via majority decision after twelve. However, a failed doping test saw the controversial young star banned for a year, while the result was overturned to a no contest.
Now that both men are in the welterweight division, a rematch seems inevitable. Add to that the fact it would be a championship unification — Haney won the WBO belt from Brian Norman Jr late last year, while Garcia recently beat Mario Barrios for the WBC — and it becomes one of the biggest fights in boxing.
The champions have been exchanging jabs on social media of late, and Haney said today that he will sign a contract and put a date on the fight should Garcia commit to Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency testing.
Let’s sign up for VADA & sign for a fight now & put a date on it. https://t.co/zyn2txuXIE
— Devin Haney (@Realdevinhaney) March 15, 2026
Haney’s demand is that Garcia – who was tested for the Barrios fight- enters the 365-day random testing pool, something he has accused his rival of dropping out of in the past. However, as the new WBC champion, Garcia should be enrolled in the sanctioning body’s Clean Boxing Programme, which puts titlists into year-round VADA testing as standard.
As the back and forth continues, Haney is reportedly very close to announcing a fight with another welterweight world champion in Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero.
In a perfect world, Garcia would target IBF champ, Lewis Crocker, meaning if both men come through then their rivalry would be settled with the undisputed tag attached. Crocker, however, has a mandatory challenger in Liam Paro to deal with.
