Two of the biggest names in American boxing are set to battle it out on April 20 as the unbeaten Devin Haney takes on Ryan Garcia.
The pair met six times as amateurs, with both fighters recording three victories along the way. Haney has clearly had the more impressive professional career however and is a big favorite for victory over his long-time rival.
Garcia was beaten by Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in April last year and could have been more impressive when getting the better of Oscar Duarte last time out.
The fighter has also had plenty of controversies outside of the ring in recent months, with some commentators urging Garcia to pull out of the fight as a result.
The bout looks set to get ahead in New York in April however and should be one of the biggest boxing showdowns of the year.
Fighter Bio | Devin Haney | Ryan Garcia |
Odds: | -900 | +550 |
Age: | 25 | 25 |
Nickname: | The Dream | The Flash |
Height: | 5’ 8” | 5’ 81⁄2” |
Reach: | 72” | 70” |
Weight: | Super Lightweight | Super Lightweight |
Trainer: | Bill Haney | Derrick James |
Record: | 31-0 | 24-1 |
Last Fight: | Win against Regis Prograis (December 9th, 2023) | Win against Oscar Duarte (December 2nd, 2023) |
After a distinguished amateur career, Devin Haney made his professional boxing debut with a knockout victory over Gonzalo Lopez in Mexico in December 2015.
The prodigy fought again just a week later, recording another knockout victory over Jose Iniguez.
Two more victories followed in Tijuana before Haney made his United States debut in April 2016 against Rafael Vazquez in Las Vegas on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao v Timothy Bradley III.
The Dream continued to rise through the ranks with impressive victories and announced himself on the big stage with wins over Xolisani Ndongeni and Antonio Moran in 2019.
Haney then secured the WBC interim lightweight title after beating Zaur Abdullaev in September 2019, he was later elevated to WBC lightweight champion after Vasiliy Lomachenko was elevated to Franchise Champion.
Comfortable defenses followed against Alfredo Santiago and Yuriorkis Gamboa before a tough test against Jorge Linares in 2021, in which Haney was caught with a powerful combination in the tenth round, seeing out the rest of the fight to win on the judge’s scorecards.
After a victory over Joseph Diaz, the 25-year-old became undisputed lightweight champion with two victories over George Kambosos Jr., both of which took place in Melbourne, Australia.
In May last year Haney faced Vasiliy Lomachenko. The bout was closer than many expected and after a dominant tenth and 11th rounds, some thought that the older man had done enough for the win.
However the American’s hand was raised and he made a smooth move up to super lightweight, securing the WBC title in that division with a decision victory over Regis Prograis.
Strengths | Weaknesses |
Technique | Overly defensive at times |
Defense | Lacks true knockout power |
Footwork | Potential inexperience at super lightweight |
Ryan Garcia followed a similar early path to Devin Haney at the start of his career, winning his first four bouts in Tijuana, Mexico in the summer of 2016.
The Flash won his first bout on American soil in August of that year, beating Jonathan Cruz by knockout.
The Californian then rose through the ranks, securing the WBC Silver lightweight title with a first-round knockout win over Romero Duno in 2019.
Garcia then got the better of Francisco Fonseca with a similarly explosive knockout before King Ryan took on Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell, winning the interim WBC lightweight title despite being knocked down.
Wins over Emmanuel Tagoe and Javier Fortuna followed before Garcia faced the biggest fight of his career against Gervonta Davis last April.
Garcia was knocked down in the second round and then the seventh from a ‘Tank’ body shot, the 25-year-old then could not beat the count and Davis was declared by knockout as a result.
The defeated fighter blamed a rehydration clause for the loss and bounced back with a workmanlike win over Oscar Duarte in his last fight.
Strengths | Weaknesses |
Left Hook | May not be up to this level |
Hand speed | Distractions outside of the ring |
Power | Footwork |
Odds mentioned in this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.