Ryan Garcia had a positive reaction to Devin Haney’s 12-round unanimous decision win over WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. from last Saturday night at the Ring IV event at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Call it a “great performance,” Ryan chose to paint Devin’s victory in a favorable light.
(Credit: Queensberry/Leigh Dawney)
Protect the Rematch
Ryan’s positive spin on Haney’s performance was predictable. The last thing he would want to do is tell it like it is, say it was another boring performance by Haney, and affect their likely 2026 rematch. Amazingly, Garcia didn’t say more, couching Devin’s win in glowing terms, making it sound magical rather than dullto help build up their rematch.
Last night’s fight involved Devin beating Norman Jr. held repeatedly in every round, and got away with dirty tactics that should have drawn penalties from the referee.
Congratulations Devin, great performance
Let’s match the stars ✨
— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) November 23, 2025
Ryan has yet to win his fight against WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios on February 21, 2026, before rematch negotiations with Haney can begin.
Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs) needs to prevail against Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) as he is coming off a 12-round unanimous decision loss to Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero earlier this year on May 2, 2025.
Fans who don’t buy it
It’s understandable that any fan believes that Ryan doesn’t deserve to fight for a world title after a loss. If Garcia is beaten by Barrios, it would make a rematch with Haney a huge joke, as it would be his third consecutive world title fight. How can a title shot against newly crowned WBO welterweight champion Haney be justified under those conditions?
It wouldn’t be such a big shock if the Garcia-Haney rematch still goes ahead if Barrios beats Ryan. There will still be plenty of fans who want to see them fight again and will be willing to ignore Garcia coming into the rematch with a 1-3-1 NC in his last four fights.
Kingry defeated Haney by 12 round majority decision on April 20, 2024 in Brooklyn, New York. After the fight, Ryan tested positive for Ostarine, which resulted in his victory being overturned. It was ruled a no contest, and Garcia was suspended for a year.
Last updated on 23/11/2025
