Promoter Oscar De La Hoya says a rematch between Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney is “not the direction we want to go” for Ryan’s next fight. He says the rematch with Devin has no merit based on Garcia’s win over him last year.
Garcia-Haney Rematch Not Happening
Oscar prefers for Ryan to avenge his loss to Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero next, and he feels that’s the more appealing option. He says he’s going to sit down with Garcia and talk about his future.
Earlier this month, Rolly upset Ryan, knocking him down in the second round, and beating him by a 12-round unanimous decision on the Times Square card on May 2nd in New York.
“No, that’s not the direction we want to go. Zero whatsoever,” said Ryan Garcia to the media when asked if Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney rematch is the direction he wants to go with Ryan’s next fight. “I actually, I’m going to sit down with Ryan. I sat down with him already. He’s in great spirits. We’re actually looking forward to the future.”
De La Hoya realizes the importance of Ryan avenging his loss to Rolly Romero, because he can’t walk away from that defeat without trying to avenge it. Garcia’s popularity has plummeted with that loss, mainly because of how he fought so meekly. That was hard to watch. He also knows that if Ryan fought Haney, he would be running around the ring, not letting Garcia get close enough to land his left hook.
“It doesn’t merit a rematch,” said De La Hoya about the Garcia vs. Haney fight needing a rematch after the outcome of their fight last year in April.
Why No Haney Rematch?
“Devin actually lost in winning [against Jose Ramirez on the Times Square card in New York City on May 2nd]. His stock is super down. Everybody is talking. I’m just stating facts here. People are talking about him just being a runner, not a boxer.”
If Turki Alalshikh wants the Garcia-Haney rematch, it’ll happen. But with the way De La Hoya is talking, it doesn’t sound like there’s been any interest right now. Oscar wouldn’t turn down that fight if Turki wanted it.
Haney has always been a runner, but it got worse after his loss to Ryan. If you look at his past fights, the only ones where he stood in the pocket were when he was at lightweight, fighting guys much smaller than him. He looked huge after rehydrating for those fights, and he mostly fought limited opposition
“There’s something about being a boxer like Pernell Whitaker, like Meldrick Taylor, like Sweet Pea. Those are boxers [and were super talented] and beautiful. This guy [Haney] is a runner. Why would I want to see that?”
It’s understandable why De La Hoya and fans wouldn’t want to see a rematch between Garcia and Haney. We already know how Devin is going to fight. He showed the blueprint of how he’s going to perform against Jose Ramirez on the Times Square card. He’s going to hit, move, and hold all night to keep Ryan from landing punches. Devin won’t land many shots either, but he’ll try to nick rounds with jabs or potshots.
Oscar Wants Romero Revenge
“Yeah, we’re going to nail down what the plans are going to be, and put them in play. Speaking to you as a fighter and not as a promoter, that’s exactly what I would do,” said De La Hoya when asked if he’s going to take Garcia in the direction of a rematch with Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero.
It might be risky for Ryan to go straight into a rematch with Rolly without taking a confidence booster against a non-puncher to get used to winning again. If he goes right back in with Romero, it could ruin his career with him losing even worse.
“So, that would be the right move for him, I think. Go get revenge. In boxing, you’re as good as your last fight. So, might as well,” said Oscar.
That’s what De La Hoya would do, try to gain revenge, but he was a different type of fighter. He was a 1992 Olympic gold medalist, a former six-division world champion. Ryan Garcia isn’t cut from the same cloth. For him, he needs to be brought back against a ham & egger that he can knock out without any issues to regain his confidence.
