Ryan Garcia maintains his belief that Devin Haney is a tougher challenge than Gervonta Davis, despite the contrasting outcomes of his previous encounters with them.
The American was entering his first world title shot against ‘Tank’ in 2023, having claimed an earlier seventh-round finish over Olympic gold medallist Luke Campbell.
Besides that, though, it could hardly be said that Garcia had proven his world-class credentials, let alone developed the requisite skillset to defeat a fighter of Davis’ calibre.
As a result, he suffered a devastating seventh-round stoppage defeat after enduring a sickening body shot that rendered him unwilling to climb off the canvas.
Garcia therefore moved up from 135lbs and, after stopping Oscar Duarte in eight rounds, he landed a world title opportunity against Haney in 2024.
At the time, Haney was set to defend his WBC super-lightweight strap, only for Garcia to exceed the 140lb limit by over 3lbs.
‘King Ry’ then edged a majority decision after flooring his former amateur rival three times, only for two doping test failures to render his victory a no-contest.
And while, objectively speaking, Garcia had more success here than he did against Davis, the 28-year-old has nonetheless told Club Shay Shay that Haney is a tougher opponent.
“Devin Haney has a long [reach] – he’s fast; he’s quick; he’s very disciplined; he always comes in shape. And I have a long history with him, so he’s going to understand how I fight a little bit more [than Davis did].
“At my best, I feel like I could beat [Davis] fairly easily. I haven’t had the chance to prove that, but that’s how I see it.”
Indeed, Garcia has always maintained that his defeat to Davis was the result of a rehydration clause, rather than him being less experienced and equipped at world level.
