By: Sean Crose
There’s been talk of Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia having a rematch of their controversial 2024 throwdown. The first – and up till now only – battle between these two ended up being a shocking affair in numerous ways. First off, Garcia’s behavior was surprising leading into the fight to say the least. Then there was the fact that the popular Californian showed up overweight. Then, of course, there was the thrashing Garcia gave the favored Haney in the ring, knocking the man down numerous times en route to a decision win upset for brash young star.
And lastly, there was the banned substance found in Garcia’s system both before and after the fight, a discovery which led to the fight being ruled a no contest and Garcia being banned from the sport for a full year. Again, the whole thing turned into a wildly controversial affair. No doubt a rematch would bring in both interest and dollars. The truth, however, is that the vast majority of the boxing world seems to feel Haney would have taken a beating from Garcia with or without a banned substance being in Garcia’s system. Is there any way Haney could possibly prove the naysayers wrong the second time around barring some kind of miracle?
Well, anyone who decides to rewatch Garcia-Haney from last year will notice that Haney does indeed do some things right. In fact, he may well have only done one thing wrong – he let Garcia land that left on him effectively. If Haney could somehow avoid that left of Garcia’s, at least to some degree, he could have a chance of winning a rematch. Garcia is perhaps underrated as a fighter, but the fact is it’s not easy seeing him having won last year’s fight without pounding and dropping Haney with his potent left. Sure enough, much of a rematch might well come down to how well Haney could avoid Garcia’s greatest weapon.
Of course there would be more to it than that if a rematch were made. Garcia would have to be drug tested thoroughly and regularly heading into the event. He also couldn’t be allowed to weigh in over the required weight, as Garcia was last time. If Garcia were to show up heavy for a rematch, he would have to be ordered to lose the weight within a given amount of time or the fight would have to be called off, no questions asked. Haney would be accused of cowardice, but it would actually be a matter of Garcia’s lack of discipline.
So yes, Haney could indeed win a rematch with Garcia. The question is, would he?