Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia are set to meet in a huge rematch later this year.
Their first encounter, which took place in April of last year, was steeped in controversy after Garcia weighed in several pounds overweight, meaning he would be ineligible to challenge Haney for his WBC super-lightweight title.
Garcia would floor Haney three times en route to being declared the winner via majority decision after putting on a career best performance to hand ‘The Dream’ the first defeat of his impressive professional career.
However, in the weeks that followed, it was revealed that Garcia had tested positive for Ostarine in tests that were taken prior to the bout. The fight was later ruled a no-contest and Garcia was issued with a one-year suspension from the sport and a fine of over $1 million.
Speaking in a post-fight interview, Haney gave an honest assessment of Garcia’s punching power, claiming his shots left him ‘more surprised than hurt’.
“He caught me early … It caught me by surprise. I fell asleep on the left hook. We trained for it but I got in there and fell asleep … I was more surprised than hurt. The first time I wasn’t really hurt. He went in there and jumped on me, like I knew he would, but I was sleeping.”
The rematch deal has been done and the fight expected to take place in the back end of 2025, although both fighters must come through respective bouts in the interim, which are set to take place on the same card on May 2.
Garcia will face Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero in a welterweight contest, with Haney set to face former unified super-lightweight champion Jose Ramirez at the iconic Times Square in the heart of New York City.
