Esteemed coach Robert Garcia has given his thoughts on a potential rematch between Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney.
The pair squared off in April 2024, with Garcia scoring three knockdowns before claiming a majority decision victory, which was later overturned to a no-contest.
This was because ‘King Ry’ had twice tested positive for banned substance ostarine, to which the New York State Athletic Commission responded by handing him a year-long ban.
Garcia had also hit the scales at 143lbs – 3lbs above the super-lightweight limit – and was therefore not eligible to claim Haney’s WBC world title.
Returning from his suspension, the American then, unsurprisingly, moved up to welterweight last May, only to suffer a unanimous decision defeat to Rolando Romero after getting floored in round two.
This, however, was followed by his WBC title triumph last month, when Garcia dethroned Mario Barrios by securing a wide points victory.
Haney, meanwhile, has also become a world champion since their first encounter, with a points win over Brian Norman Jr seeing him claim the WBO title in November.
But despite the dominant nature of his last performance, trainer Robert Garcia has told ESNEWS that he nonetheless sees Haney losing a possible rematch with his old rival.
“Ryan already did it, man. I’ll go for Ryan. If he did it once, he can do it again.”
While Haney has previously expressed interest in a sequel with Garcia, it would appear that he is now set to face Romero, the reigning WBA welterweight champion, on May 30.
An official announcement is yet to emerge, but it seems likely that their unification match will headline a show at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas.
