MAN OF THE MOMENT
happen than a couple of social media rants. Haney claimed to be interested but demanded “realistic” negotiations. Among Haney’s demands was that he would be recognized as the “A-side” and that there had to be strict VADA testing due to Garcia’s previous doping violation. There were also reports that Haney was in advanced negotiations to fight Romero, which would put Garcia- Haney II on the table for a while. Still, a return bout with Haney is the biggest fight Garcia could have this year, and certainly the biggest fight in the welterweight class. There’s more to the Garcia-Haney rivalry than just Garcia’s controversial “win” in 2024. They’d fought six times as amateurs, each winning three times, with Garcia scoring a big win over Haney at the USA Boxing Junior Olympics in 2014 in West Virginia. As professionals, Haney has been on a more deliberate, straightforward path to success and status, while Garcia’s trip has been chaotic and filled with detours. Now, since Garcia finally has a title belt and Haney won the WBO belt last November by defeating Brian Norman Jr., these two old rivals can put their belts on the line and create a fight to remember. Of course, Garcia has options beyond Haney. The first fighter Garcia called out after beating Barrios was not Haney but junior welterweight champion Shakur Stevenson. “You know who I want,” Garcia said, pointing to Stevenson at ringside. “He’s right there. Shakur Stevenson! Let’s go!” But at the post-fight press conference, Garcia immediately turned his thoughts to Haney, which gave fans reason to think Garcia-Haney II would happen sooner rather than later. Stevenson has expressed interest in fighting Garcia but wants the fight to be at a catchweight of 144 pounds. Garcia has said, again on social media, “Forget the catchweight shit. Let’s do it for real.” But is dropping back down to 140 and challenging for Stevenson’s
Ring/WBO championship a realistic goal for Garcia, particularly when Stevenson has said he might like to return to lightweight? Are they both just blowing hot air to keep their names in the news? Regardless, Garcia kept Stevenson in mind during his late-night tirades on X, spurred by Stevenson saying a fight would only occur if Garcia “don’t take no steroids.” In addition, Garcia has claimed that despite winning a welterweight title, he intends to fight again at 140, a massive gamble considering he long ago declared it was “impossible” for him to reach that weight. “You know who I want,” Garcia said, pointing to Stevenson at ringside. “He’s right there. Shakur Stevenson! Let’s go!” “As long as there’s no rehydration clause things will be going forward,” Garcia posted. “Testing always included, I’d never shy away from that. For Shakur to assume I’m on steroids, that is defamation. So I would advise you to refrain yourself, I know you are deep down scared and you should have fear. I’m coming for you. Fear the lord.” Of course, the WBC will complicate things. The organization was quick to establish that Conor Benn is first in line as Garcia’s mandatory defense. A Garcia- Benn fight would be interesting on many levels, including the expected pre-fight mischief from a pair of spotlight-loving egotists and heightened attention from anti-doping agencies. Still, Garcia may be sufficiently headstrong to disregard the WBC’s wishes and push for Haney or Stevenson. Garcia might also consider a unifying match against newly crowned IBF titlist Lewis Crocker of Belfast. “The Croc,” who hits like a sledgehammer and is
colorful in his own right, would be an excellent opponent for the new WBC titlist. Such a fight would grab the hardcore purists as well as the legion of Garcia fans who hang out on Instagram waiting for his next wacky post. The only problem is that Crocker, while highly regarded in Northern Ireland, is not a brand name anywhere else. Crocker needs to increase his name value outside his home country to make a unification fight juicier at the box office. He only won his title last September in an all-Irish showdown with rival Paddy Donovan, a hard- fought split decision that went Crocker’s way. At 29, Crocker should move fast if he wants in on the Garcia sweepstakes. Then again, he rarely fights outside of Belfast. With his massive local support, it’s tough to picture Crocker coming stateside to fight Garcia. It is even more unlikely that Garcia would travel to Belfast. Finally, reports of Crocker having a hand injury would stall things until much later in the year. Another name in the hat, perhaps the least likely to get a piece of Garcia, is England’s Josh Kelly. Just weeks before Garcia dominated Barrios, the 31-year-old Kelly won the IBF junior middleweight title. Days after Garcia’s win, Kelly threw out a challenge over social media. First, he praised Garcia’s win over Barrios as “a great performance,” and then offered King Ry “a chance at becoming a two- weight world champion.” Kelly dubbed such an event as the “battle of the pretty boys.” Well, it’s hard to imagine Sonny Liston saying such things (or using his enormous thumbs to tap out a text message on a phone), but kudos to Kelly for trying to stir things up. Unfortunately, Kelly has little chance of luring Garcia into a fight. Garcia didn’t acknowledge his challenge, not even with a smart-ass comment. If a social media hog like Garcia doesn’t respond to you, that’s like a quick swipe left on Tinder. Like Crocker, Kelly is well-known in
Garcia’s father, Henry, served as head trainer for the first time since 2022.
the U.K. but barely known anywhere else. His title-winning majority decision over Bakhram Murtazaliev in Newcastle was competitive and reasonably entertaining, but his “hit and don’t get hit” style isn’t always exciting. It is also doubtful that anyone is pining for a Garcia-Kelly showdown, or that Garcia would come up to junior middleweight just now. It’s just that Garcia is the hot fighter of the moment, and Kelly wanted to be mentioned alongside him. Such is the power of social media, where a few words dashed off at the right time can create some nice publicity for a few days or weeks. And such is the position Garcia now finds himself in. People want their names linked with his, which wasn’t the case last year. Regardless of whether he settles on Haney, Stevenson, Benn, Crocker or even a rematch with Romero, the table is now set for Garcia in a way that until recently was unimaginable. At 27, he’s finally reached the destination that
redemption, there are still uncertainties over how long it will last. Sometimes, a change in attitude is a bit like a diet. It’s easy to follow for a while, but the old cravings come back. We can hope that Garcia stays on this positive path, but let’s check in again this time next year to see if he’s trashed another hotel room or failed another drug test. And while it was nice to see him back on good terms with his father/trainer Henry Garcia – their post-fight embrace in the ring was touching – the pair has a turbulent past. Many father-son relationships in boxing can turn prickly from one fight to the next. Thinking this way is not an insult to Garcia. It’s just that guys like him are common in boxing. We don’t know if he has really evolved or if he’s just the latest bad boy to promise us that from now on, things will be different. It’s a promise we’ve heard before from fighters going back decades. It would be nice for boxing if Garcia can make it stick.
was predicted for him a long time ago. He is no longer a star without a title belt. There are fewer questions about whether his popularity had outpaced his actual talent. He is now a titleholder in a flourishing weight class and has options for a couple of big fights. Moreover, he has something that can’t be taught in a gym: personality. He was born with it. He plays the publicity game like a maestro. Concerns about Garcia’s mental health, which began around 2024, have subsided somewhat. He has recently claimed to have stopped drinking, and that sobriety has saved his career. That’s another sign of the newfound maturity that was evident against Barrios. But as admirable as this career turnaround may be, and as inspiring as many will find Garcia’s recent
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