WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia appears to have had a change of plan when it comes to his future, seemingly looking elsewhere after previously announcing his next opponent.
‘King Ry’ dominated his clash against Mario Barrios back in February, utilising the right-hook, rather than his trademark left, to catch ‘El Azteca’ by surprise and comfortably claim a unanimous decision win to finally get his hands on world honours.
That triumph seemed to tee up a grudge match rematch and now title unification against fierce rival and WBO welterweight champion Devin Haney, but the latter was instead targeting an alternate champion in Rolando Romero (WBA).
Then, at the beginning of the month, Garcia revealed that he would be taking on Teofimo Lopez on Saturday, July 25, but collapsed talks for a fight between Haney and Romero seem to have intervened on those plans.
Instead, on a Kick stream, Garcia told UFC lightweight title hopeful Arman Tsarukyan that he is currently hoping that the Haney rematch can happen next.
“Hopefully, [it is Devin Haney next]. He doesn’t really want to call me out, I put a lot of fear into him last time.”
Additionally, WBC mandatory challenger Conor Benn is intending on fighting Garcia later this year, but a unification bout between Garcia and Haney would trump any mandated fight between Benn and the WBC champion.
Haney-Garcia II was previously touted for September, with Haney wanting a fight beforehand, seeking to give himself the optimal chance to right the wrongs of their initial encounter.
