Devin Haney is set to end his 13-month spell of inactivity when he takes part in a welterweight title unification against Liam Paro next month, and ‘The Dream’ has revealed who he would like to take on in the fight that follows.
Haney defeated Brian Norman Jr to claim the WBO welterweight title last November, but the three-division world champion has yet to return to action since, much to the frustration of fight fans.
After signing an exclusive deal with DAZN, Haney has now agreed to a unification showdown with Australia’s IBF world champion Paro, whilst fellow champions Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez are linked to a clash with one another.
Speaking to FightHype, Haney said that he would love to take on the victor of the potential Garcia-Lopez bout in order to compete for the undisputed crown, but he admitted that he would prefer a rematch with fierce foe Garcia.
“Yes, of course [I want to face the winner of Garcia-Lopez for the undisputed title]. That is the plan. The Ryan Garcia fight is the fight that I want the most, it starts with Liam Paro, but yeah for sure, once I win this fight – you guys know who I have got my eyes on.”
Haney went on to then state his confidence that such an event could be made, believing that there is sufficient worldwide interest for a second battle between he and Garcia to be staged.
“The stars are aligning. There is high demand from the fans already, there is high demand from me already, so it is aligning. I think that, once I am victorious in this fight and if Ryan is victorious, he has still got to beat Teo – or even if Teo is victorious – I would take either or for undisputed.
“But, obviously I want Ryan Garcia to win, so that I can right that wrong.”
Haney and Garcia met back in April 2024, with ‘King Ry’ claiming a points victory, though it was later overturned to a no contest due to Garcia failing a drugs test.
Whilst Haney will hope that Garcia-Lopez is a title unification, the WBA may still decide to force Lopez to take on mandatory challenger Jack Catterall in order to avoid being stripped of his belt – which could yet scupper Haney’s plan to compete for the undisputed throne if he comes through Paro unscathed.
