The debate is on: Will Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney ever stage a rematch?
Following this week’s Garcia suspension, fine and redacted victory for his failure of pre-fight tests for the banned performance-enhancing substance ostarine, the question lingers whether these forever-linked rivals will get in the same ring again.
On Friday, Haney (now 31-0 after the New York State Athletic Commission’s no-contest ruling) said he is exploring a lawsuit against Garcia for damages incurred by that three-knockdown, majority decision loss to Garcia (24-1) at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on April 20.
After eight-figure earnings including pay-per-view revenue from that bout, Haney, 25, was offered just slightly more than $1.6 million in a purse bid offer from Top Rank for his mandatory WBC 140-pound title defense against Spain’s Sandor Martin.
Haney has strongly indicated he will instead vacate the belt and take an extended break.
“Everyone was losers on this [fight],” ProBox TV analyst and former 140-pound titleholder Chris Algieri said on Friday’s episode of “Deep Waters.”
“Devin Haney took a beating. His value changing in the purse bid … you don’t think that was affected by the loss? Whether or not the loss was expunged from his record, that moment happened.
“And Ryan not only lost money, people will always think of the guy who failed his tests for PEDs. He lost two fights [because of the year-long New York suspension], tens of millions of dollars for each one.”
Yet, “Deep Waters” analyst Paulie Malignaggi said he expects there will, at some point, be a Garcia-Haney rematch, most likely at welterweight.
“People want to see this fight: Did [Garcia] really win? Did [the banned substance] really affect him?” Malignaggi said. “[Garcia fans] want to see him make this right.”
Algieri, however, said Garcia’s erratic behavior before and after the bout convinced him “there are enough pitfalls” to prevent the bout from ever occurring.
“It was a good fight,” Algieri said of the April bout. “I’d like to see them weigh the same this time. But I’m telling you, we’re not going to see it.”
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