Everything about Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia last April was explosive from their incessant trash talk to Garcia drinking a beer on the scale at the weigh-in, then registering 3.2 pounds overweight to disqualify his chances to win the WBC super lightweight world title. Not to mention, the brawl between the two camps following the weigh-in.
And that was all before the fight.
The actual bout sparked fireworks of its own as Garcia wobbled Haney with his vaunted left hook just 40 seconds into the fight. He’d detonate the massive weapon and land it across Haney’s jaw, before a compact right to the forehead dropped the champ in the seventh round.
(Golden Boy / Cris Esqueda)
Garcia made Haney taste the canvas two more times — during the 10 and 11 rounds — en route to a raucous majority decision victory … however, one clouded in controversy.
There was the fact that Garcia was 3.2 pounds over the super lightweight weight limit of 140 pounds. But that was just the beginning. In the weeks that followed, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association found that Garcia tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug Ostarine.
Despite Garcia taking to his social media to deny the findings, his majority decision victory was turned into an official No Contest, keeping Haney an undefeated fighter. Garcia also had to forfeit $1.2 million and was suspended one year.
And that brings us to DAZN’s ninth New Year’s Resolution for boxing in 2025:
For Haney and Garcia to have a much-needed rematch to end their heated rivalry
There’s too much vitriol surrounding Haney and Garcia for the rematch not to happen.
Last fall, Haney filed a lawsuit against Garcia in attempt to seek damages for fraud, battery and breach of contract in association to Garcia’s positive PED result.
“This lawsuit is to ensure that champions are clean and that there will be ramifications and consequences behind anyone that’s using PEDs in any form,” Haney’s father Bill Haney recently told Fight Hub TV. “We’ve heard fighters speak out about that and we believe this would serve as a precedent for future fighters.”
Legalities aside, there are critics and fans who believe that Garcia won due to whatever edge the PED usage might have given him.
There are other critics and fans who believe that Haney didn’t have any answers for Garcia’s monstrous left hook and the same beating would apply in a rematch.
For Haney, a sequel would afford him the opportunity to undo the eye test on what everyone witnessed last April and prove to fans that he can box around that left hook and stand victorious.
For Garcia, it’s a shot at redemption — to fight cleanly and prove that he and his left hook are just a nightmare matchup for Haney.
Garcia coming off the one-year suspension this year makes 2025 the apt time for these rivals to run it back and settle the score once and for all.