Ryan Garcia responded to Bill Haney’s expletive remark about him, saying he’ll “Be ready” for Devin Haney. Last night, Bill was dismissive of Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn when asked whether either would be a good option for Devin’s next fight, following his 12-round unanimous decision win over WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
(Credit: Queensberry/Leigh Dawney)
Devin’s Clinch-Fest
Haney (33-0, 15 KOs) clinched his way to an ugly 12-round unanimous decision over Norman Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs) at Turki Alalshikh’s Ring IV event at the ANB Arena. The scores were 114-113, 116-111, and 117-110. Devin was fortunate that the referee working the fight had a Laissez-faire attitude about controlling his excessive clinching, because he should have been penalized.
Haney had one good round, the second, when he dropped Norman Jr. with a lucky right-hand punch. After that, it was almost all holding and moving by Devin. There are no words to describe how boring the fight was.
Like in Haney’s previous fight against Jose Ramirez on Turki’s Times Square event on May 2, 2025, his performance was the worst of the night. He took the honors once again asd the most boring of the victorious fighters.
Bill’s F-Bomb Rant
“F*** Ryan Garcia and Henry,” said Bill Haney to Fight Hub TV following Devin Haney’s win over WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. last Saturday night.
Money Fight Still Ryan
Bill can’t be serious about the Ryan fight, as that’s the biggest payday available for Devin at 147. The closest thing to that is a fight against Conor Benn, but Bill likely won’t go that way, given the high likelihood Devin would lose. If he gets beaten by Conor, especially by knockout, that would be the final nail in the coffin of a rematch with Garcia.
“F*** you to Bill, we will be ready, you know what it is,” said Ryan Garcia on X, reacting to Bill Haney’s remark about him and his dad, Henry Garcia.
A rematch between Ryan and Haney still has a major hurdle blocking it in the form of WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios. Kingry is challenging Barrios on February 21, 2026.
If he loses that fight, which is very possible, it would be his second consecutive defeat in world title fights. Garcia lost to Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero by a 12-round unanimous decision on May 2, 2025, at Times Square. For the Garcia-Haney rematch to happen, Ryan would have to rebuild by beating someone credible for Turki to sell a second fight.
At this point, it’s very questionable whether Ryan can beat anyone decent at 147. Losing to Rolly showed how limited he is as a fighter.
Benn Not an Option
“He’s not a champion, though. No. He has to get a belt or something,” said Bill when asked if he would be interested in Devin fighting Conor Benn next. “If he got a belt [fighting the winner of Mario Barrios vs. Ryan Garcia], that sounds good. I don’t know, going over there [the UK] with our belt [WBO 147-lb title] for him [Benn] is the move. Let’s let Devin enjoy the night and have some real strategies next week,” said Bill.
The way Haney looked last night against Norman Jr. and in his previous contest against Ramirez, he’s not beating Conor Benn. He can’t clinch his way to a victory the way he did against Norman Jr. or run for 12 rounds, hoping the judges will give him the decision like he did in the Ramirez bout.
Last Saturday night, after an early second-round flash knockdown of Norman Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs), Haney spent much of the remainder of the fight clinching the champion to win a 12-round unanimous decision. The scores were 114-113, 116-111, and 117-110.
While there were some gripes by some boxing fans about the 114-113 score being too close, they said nothing about the nonstop clinching that Haney did, which should have been penalized by the lenient referee, Ricky Gonzalez.
Devin’s holding played a significant factor in the fight’s outcome, as without it he would have had to exchange more. It wasn’t going well for Haney from round four onward, when Norman Jr. was allowed to punch without being grabbed.