Devin Haney-Ryan Garcia showdown reportedly set for April 20
One of the most sought-after fights of 2024 is now a reality.
Devin Haney, The Ring’s No. 1-rated junior welterweight, will defend his WBC title against Ryan Garcia on April 20. An announcement is expected in the next 24 hours.
Mike Coppinger of ESPN was the first to break the news. Former ESPN Senior Boxing writer Dan Rafael confirmed the fight was set Friday morning. Haney’s father/manager Bill Haney confirmed the news to PPV.com.
Have been told that this morning the #HaneyGarcia paperwork was signed by everybody who needed to sign and is NOW done. April 20. Site TBA. DAZN PPV. Official announcement later today. Big fight. #boxing#precise
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) February 9, 2024
The fight is expected to take place in Las Vegas, with the T-Mobile Arena as the likely venue. DAZN is the likely entity to stream the fight as Matchroom Boxing, which promoted Haney’s most recent fight, and Golden Boy, which promotes Garcia, have exclusive rights with DAZN.
Haney (31-0, 15 knockouts) won the WBC 140-pound title in his last bout on December 9, dropping Regis Prograis once en route to a shut-out unanimous decision victory. The fight took place at the sold-out Chase Center in San Francisco, where Haney was born and raised.
In his previous fight on May 20, Haney successfully defended his Ring Magazine and undisputed lightweight championship by defeating Vasiliy Lomachenko by a very close decision. Months after the win over Lomachenko, Haney decided to vacate his world title belts at 135 pounds to move up in weight.
Garcia, a former lightweight contender, will be fighting for a world title belt for the first time in his professional career.
Like Haney, Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) has fought a majority of his career at 135 pounds but has fought above that weight in recent fights.
In his last fight on December 2, Garcia knocked out fringe lightweight contender Oscar Duarte in the eighth round. That fight was fought at a catchweight of 143 pounds. In his previous fight on April 22, Garcia was dropped twice en route to a knockout win at the hands of Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in a clash of unbeaten lightweight contenders.
The 25-year-old Garcia has had different trainers in recent years, including Eddy Reynoso, Joe Goossen, and now Derrick James.
No word on what arrangements were made with WBC No. 1 contender Sandor Martin or if the sanctioning body is allowing this fight to be Haney’s voluntary defense.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]
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