DEVIN Haney has just capped off a busy weekend in London, England, culminating in him moving closer towards a potential rematch with Ryan Garcia.
The 26-year-old kicked off his visit with an open workout at the Peacock Gym, gracing the iconic boxing club with his presence on cold Friday afternoon.
Then, shortly after treating fans to a blistering display on the pads, Haney, 31-0 (15 KOs), met with boxing power broker Turki Alalshikh to discuss his next outing.
But while ‘The Dream’ has plenty of options to explore, including a mouth-watering showdown with WBO super lightweight titlist Teofimo Lopez, there is one fight in particular that remains at the forefront of his mind.
“The big fights will happen in 2025,” Haney told Boxing News. “I’ve been saying for a long time that I want to fight the best fighters in the world, and who better to make [the fights] happen than [Alalshikh]?
“It’s unfinished business [with Garcia]. That’s a fight [Alalshikh] really wants to make happen; that’s a fight I want to make happen… I think it’ll happen, sooner or later.
“I’d pick the Ryan fight [over a clash with Lopez]. There’s so much unfinished business there.”
Haney squared off with his super lightweight rival back in April, suffering his first professional defeat after getting floored three times in a punishing display.
Garcia’s majority decision victory, however, was then overturned to a no-contest once it emerged that he had tested positive for ostarine, a performance-enhancing substance.
The failed test was conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA), with the New York State Athletic Commission, in turn, handing the 26-year-old a backdated year-long ban.
Yet still, Garcia continues to claim his innocence, insisting that he is happy to be drug tested ahead of a potential dustup with Haney so long as it is conducted by a different agency to VADA.
Haney, meanwhile, remains adamant that anyone wishing to face him must sign up for VADA’s 24/7/365 (year-round) testing program, an initiative he joined at the beginning of this year.
And so, while Riyadh Season chief Alalshikh has expressed his interest in the rematch, there is still a clear stumbling block that both parties need to overcome.
Not only that, but Garcia’s ban does not expire until April 20, leaving both fighters with over a year of inactivity to contend with.
In any case, Haney’s visit to the UK could perhaps best be described as brief but productive, with fans catching a glimpse of the former undisputed lightweight king just moments before his meeting with the most influential man in boxing.
The images used for this article have been provided by Philip Sharky, a veteran boxing photographer who braved the Baltic conditions on Friday.
“Haney stripped off and began to shadow box, watched closely by his father Bill Haney,” Sharky recalls.
“But, after deciding that, even with an industrial sized heater at full blast, the temperature wins on points, he put a few layers on for his pad work with Tunde Ajayi.
“His mercurial bursts of speed and heavy final punches to the pads were greeted with cheers from the fans, and shouts of “Lions in the camp” from Anthony Yarde and friends.”
