Devin Haney has reportedly agreed to his most significant bout to date. The undefeated 140-pound champion will go head-to-head with Ryan Garcia in a pay-per-view clash of 25-year-old rising stars on April 20 in Las Vegas, as per various reports. Despite Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) still recovering from a knockout defeat to Gervonta Davis last year, both he and Davis boast the largest social media followings in the sport. This fact adds to the magnitude of Haney’s initial title defense.
Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) and Garcia allegedly faced each other six times during their amateur careers, but the current champion has achieved more success as a professional. Haney is currently one of the most in-demand fighters globally, having secured consecutive victories against George Kambosos Jr. (twice), Vasiliy Lomachenko, and Regis Prograis in the past year and a half. Notably, Haney won and successfully defended the undisputed 135-pound championship against Kambosos, narrowly outpointed Lomachenko at 135, and then claimed Prograis’ title by a unanimous decision in his first fight as a full-fledged junior welterweight. Following the Prograis win, Haney climbed to No. 10 on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound rankings.
Last April, Davis halted Garcia’s progress by delivering a body punch that led to a seventh-round stoppage for the Los Angeles-area fighter. Garcia had moved down from 140 pounds for the lucrative opportunity. However, Garcia bounced back in December with an eighth-round stoppage victory over Oscar Duarte, setting the stage for the upcoming clash with Haney. Initially, Garcia had been in negotiations to face beltholder Rolando Romero, but those talks fell through, and Romero chose to defend his title against Isaac Cruz instead. This turn of events opened the door for the highly anticipated Haney-Garcia showdown.
According to the Source mmajunkie.usatoday.com