Ryan Garcia congratulates Haney on winning the title – but in the same breath announces a rematch in which Haney would get “the same beating as last time”.
Ryan Garcia had some surprisingly clear words after Devin Haney’s convincing victory over Brian Norman Jr. – and at the same time added fuel to the fire of their rivalry. Garcia, who had even bet 50,000 dollars on a Haney victory before the fight, analyzed his long-time opponent’s performance in an unusually respectful manner. Haney dominated Norman, taking his WBO welterweight title and moving into the Pound-for-Pound top 10 of the ring rankings.
Garcia was completely unimpressed: Haney had shown “exactly what he is – fast, clever, good at distance management”. At the same time, he sharply criticized Norman: The challenger was “overwhelmed, haphazard and without adjustments”. Garcia: “If you don’t hurt Haney, you let him set the pace.”
But despite the words of praise for Haney, Garcia took the opportunity to once again demand a rematch. He continued to insist that his positive Ostarin test after the first duel “did not give him an advantage” and would not have changed the result. In their first fight in April 2024, Garcia knocked Haney down three times before the win was declared a no contest due to the doping violation.
Garcia is currently preparing for his fight against WBC world champion Mario Barrios on February 21 – a duel that he hopes will lead to a title unification against Haney. And he promises that his recipe for success against Haney will not change: “Devin can’t beat me. No matter how he goes about it. If we fight again, he’ll get the same treatment, the same knockdowns – and the same beating.”
Text by Robin Josten