The heated rivalry between Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia showed no signs of cooling after recent events in Riyadh.
Haney became a three-weight world champion by outclassing Brian Norman Jr to win the WBO welterweight title. It didn’t take long for Haney and his father to trade fresh verbal blows with Garcia, adding more fuel to a fire that had already been stoked before their infamous clash in April 2024.
After 12 rounds of intense action, Garcia won by majority decision, but controversy followed when he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. With the result wiped from the record, Garcia served a ban while Haney recovered from a punishing night.
Since then, talk of a rematch has never really quietened. Haney’s win over Norman takes him into 2026 with renewed momentum. Garcia, meanwhile, could become a world champion if he comes through his expected February challenge against WBC title-holder Mario Barrios.
Former WBC welterweight champion turned pundit and podcast host Shawn Porter gave his view on how a rematch might play out when speaking to K.O Artist Sports — but first revisited the original fight, which he believes remains hard to forget.
“We’re not going to be able to erase that loss the way it was erased off your record. We saw what happened. We saw the struggles. We know what part of those struggles were. But, like I always say, you’re there to get hit. He [Haney] had a great fight in between those knockdowns, but he had too many moments.”
Porter then gave his pick for Haney–Garcia II, should it happen.
“I’m on record saying Devin beats Ryan in a rematch. I’m probably the only one that said Devin beats Ryan in a rematch.”
