conference in Los Angeles when he seemed to be buckling under pressure: “Sometimes the weight of the world feels like it’s on my shoulders,” he said glumly. The comment was strange, given that boxers generally project strength, not emotional fragility, going into a fight. Haney, sensing trouble, asked his foe repeatedly whether he planned to show up for the fight. Garcia never responded, leaving his mental state in doubt a few days before the event. Then things really started getting wacky: Garcia weighed in the day before the fight a whopping 3.2 pounds over the 140-pound limit, which precluded him from contending for Haney’s WBC title. Haney, still confident of victory, agreed to go through with the fight after Garcia honored a bet to pay him $500,000 for every pound he was overweight, although Garcia reportedly coughed up only $600,000. That decision would haunt Haney, beginning in the first moments of the fight. It took Garcia only 40 seconds to demonstrate that his left hook – one of the best in the business – would be a significant problem for Haney, who backpedaled across the ring after taking a beauty on the chin. Haney responded well – winning the next five rounds on one card, four on the other two – but it seemed a matter of time before incessant pressure applied by Garcia would pay off again. And it did. Haney went down as a result of the hook in Rounds 7, 10 and 11 in one of the most surreal stretches in recent history, considering Haney’s reputation as a master boxer and the fact he had shut out former titleholder Regis Prograis in his previous fight. The knockdowns tilted the fight in Garcia’s favor. Judge Max DeLuca scored it even (112-112), but he was overruled by Eric Marlinski (114-110) and Robin Taylor (115-
109), who had the emotionally fragile underdog winning. Garcia showed up for the fight. “Ryan Garcia is a much better fighter than we give him credit for,” Haney said in the recent interview. “It wasn’t just a left hook that he did well. He did a lot of good things in the fight. He had flaws in the fight as well, but he did a lot of good things.” Indeed, he did. Garcia had pulled off a massive achievement, one that proved that he was more than a handsome social media star who drank too much and found himself in dark places too often. He had demonstrated that he had the ability to beat the best, which promised to open all sorts of doors for him going forward. Then it was gone. News broke the Thursday after the fight that samples taken from Garcia the day before and day of the fight by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association had tested positive for the illegal performance-enhancer ostarine. He and his team immediately went into damage control mode, claiming the positive test of his “A” samples (and later his “B” samples) was the result of a contaminated supplement. That assertion generally doesn’t absolve an athlete in Garcia’s position, as he learned on June 20, when the New York State Athletic Commission declared the fight a no-contest, suspended him for one year retroactive to April 20 and seized his purse, although he still collected a percentage of profits. The forfeiture of $1.2 million was stunning even to Haney’s handlers. “It is a harsh result,” Haney’s attorney, Pat English, who has been around boxing for decades, told ESPN at the time. “I have never seen a $1.2 million forfeiture or anything remotely close to it.” It’s been a year since the first
TIMES SQUARE-OFF A HISTORY-MAKING EVENT IN THE HEART OF NEW YORK CITY WILL SEE TWO BITTER ENEMIES VYING FOR THE CHANCE TO FACE OFF IN AN EAGERLY ANTICIPATED SEQUEL By Michael Rosenthal
R arely have both fighters in a major bout suffered such indignity. One of them, an erratic but talented young power-puncher, scored what could’ve been a career- changing victory, only to test positive for a banned substance, lose his triumph, get suspended for a year and forfeit his $1.2 million purse. Disaster. His opponent that night saw his image as one of the sport’s most respected young champions eviscerated when he went down three times against a 6-1 underdog and lost a majority decision. Some used the dreaded “E” word to describe his fate: Exposed. The sad story could have a happy ending for either Ryan Garcia or Devin Haney, however. They’re both scheduled to fight on May 2 at Times Square
“There are so many question marks from that fight that need to be answered,” Haney told The Ring shortly after the May 2 card was announced. “I feel I’m a better fighter than Ryan. I was cheated; the world saw that I was cheated. That’s not an opinion. There’s actual proof that I was cheated. “I’m looking to set the record straight and come out with a victory against him.” If the second meeting has half the drama of the first, fans had better brace themselves for a wild ride. The original, which took place in April 2024 across the Brooklyn Bridge at Barclays Center, was a compelling matchup between two of the biggest names in the sport – Haney unbeaten (31-0, 15 KOs), Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) with only a loss to Gervonta Davis – but no one could’ve predicted the series of events that would unfold before, during and after the fight.
in New York City, Garcia against Rolando Romero and Haney against Jose Ramirez. If Garcia and Haney win those fights, they will likely have a chance to get it right in a rematch this fall in Saudi Arabia.
Garcia, who has acknowledged mental health issues, was typically bizarre in the lead-up. That included a moment at a pre-fight news
In an intriguing doubleheader, Devin Haney takes on Jose Ramirez and Ryan Garcia faces Rolly Romero.
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