Regis Prograis has predicted a potential rematch between Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney, believing that one man has a psychological edge over the other.
The two Americans squared off in April 2024, having previously won an equal share of their six amateur contests and established themselves as high-profile professionals.
But while they were supposed to lock horns for Haney’s WBC super-lightweight strap, Garcia tipped the scales at just over 143lbs and, instead, it ended up being a non-title fight.
Nevertheless, ‘King Ry’ pulled off a sizable upset after scoring three knockdowns and edging a majority decision, only for his victory to later be ruled a no-contest.
This was because Garcia had tested positive for banned substance ostarine and, as such, was handed a year-long doping ban by the New York State Athletic Commission.
The Californian would then return at 147lbs, losing to Rolando Romero, before dethroning Mario Barrios with a unanimous decision victory last February.
Arguably more impressive, however, was his WBC title defence against Conor Benn, who he stopped in round two of their showdown last month.
Based on that, former two-time world champion Prograis has told MillCity Boxing that he would make Garcia the favourite in a rematch with Haney.
“Right now, [I’d favour] Ryan. Ryan just beat the hell out of Conor Benn; he beat the hell out of Barrios. He’s a natural 147-pounder now.
“And I think he has the mental [edge] over Devin. Devin sat in the crowd and just saw him beat the s**t out of Conor Benn.”
Despite having not fought since his WBO title-winning performance against Brian Norman Jr in November, many would argue that Haney, as a three-division world champion, is the all-round superior fighter to Garcia despite how the action played out first time around, making the fight one of the most intriguing out there.
