Devin Haney thinks Ryan Garcia would fight him, but Golden Boy won’t allow it

HEY, JUST CHECKING IN WITH YOUR ALMOST-DAILY DEVIN HANEY UPDATE!

The lightweight prospect/contender again wants you all to know that he’s ready for big fights! Along with calling out the Lomachenko-Lopez winner, Haney has his sights on an old amateur rival, Ryan Garcia, the social media star who has made waves in the pros.

The 21-year-old Garcia (20-0, 17 KO) has, like Haney, repeatedly stated he’s ready to face top names and whatnot. He has, like Haney, not done. He, like Haney, is very young, and it’s not even really a problem that they haven’t fought top guys, other than they constantly talk about doing it and then don’t; whatever the reason, a lot of fans just see the “don’t” part of it, and perceive it purely negatively. It’s how it is.

There had been talk of putting Garcia in against Jorge Linares this spring after both of them won on Feb. 14, but Garcia’s trainer Eddy Reynoso has been firmly against the idea of stepping Ryan up too quickly. Back in January, he wanted Garcia to take a couple more fights before facing Linares. More recently, he’s said that Garcia needs “two or three more fights” before fighting someone like Devin Haney.

Reynoso has also made clear that if matchmaking gets taken fully out of his hands, he’s not going to continue training Garcia. He has his plan, and he believes it’s the right one. He’s a top-tier trainer not hurting for work, with Canelo Alvarez, Julio Cesar Martinez, Oscar Valdez, and Luis Nery also in his stable, and there’s now talk of him getting Andy Ruiz Jr in, too.

The 21-year-old Haney (24-0, 15 KO) believes that a fight between the two is inevitable, but not going to happen soon.

“I know what they have set for Ryan and I don’t think they have any intentions of fighting me,” he said on Matchroom’s Lockdown Tapes podcast. He added that he believes Garcia would take the fight if it were up to him, but that Golden Boy won’t do it.

He also may talk trash, but he has a healthy respect for Garcia.

Photo by Valery Sharifulin\TASS via Getty Images

“We boxed a lot in the amateurs, so we have a lot of history,” said Haney. “Ryan and I have always been advanced for our ages since we were young. He’s always been my rival, it’s always been him and me going at it. I think I was nine in our first fight and he was my second-to-last amateur fight.

“Ryan’s good and he’s improved in the pros, training with Eddy Reynoso and the Canelo team. He’s getting better with every fight and his talent speaks for itself.”

As Haney continues seeking a big fight to silence those who still have doubts, he said he’s willing to go up to 140 for one, too.

“I want to make the biggest fights happen and if it’s up at 140, I’ll gladly go up and take it,” he said. “A fight with Mikey Garcia, Adrien Broner, those are the big fights there. But lightweight is where I am campaigning and I’m looking to win more and more world titles.”

Garcia, of course, is staying at welterweight with zero intention of moving back down to 140, and Broner hasn’t made 140 since losing to Garcia in 2017. He also hasn’t won a fight in over three years, but there would certainly be an audience for it if Broner could make the weight and all that. AB still has a very loyal fan base.

Like everything right now, we’ll see. But Haney is itching for that big fight. Whether he can find one any time soon is a whole set of other stories.