Devin Haney’s self named promotional company (Devin Haney Promotions) announced on social media this week that a rematch between the WBO welterweight champion and WBC title holder Ryan Garcia is being targeted for September 5 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, according to World Boxing News.
If confirmed, the bout would serve as a welterweight unification fight between two former rivals whose first meeting, in April 2024, ended in suspension, a positive drug test, and a result overturned to a no contest. No formal confirmation has come from Garcia’s camp or any broadcast partner.
The targeted date would place the fight two weeks ahead of the Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao rematch, currently slated for September 19.
Negotiation friction over ‘A-side’ status
While the date has been floated publicly, the financial terms appear far from settled. In a March 3 interview with Inside The Ring, Haney (33-0, 15 KOs) said Garcia immediately positioned himself as the bigger draw when preliminary discussions began.
“The first thing he said was, ‘Hey, I’m just letting you know I’m the A-side,'” Haney told The Ring. “One, we haven’t even started really negotiating to even say what’s the A side or a B side, and everybody knows if His Excellency Turki Alalshikh is going to put up the fight, then it’s really no A-side or B-side. You get what you get and you go your way and I go my way.”
“He has to be realistic in these negotiations. I’m not here to just take anything.”
Haney also referenced Garcia’s conduct in the lead-up to the first fight as a reason he would not accept terms blindly this time around.
“Ryan Garcia, when the ball was in his court, he didn’t make weight, he showed up with a positive drug test, it was all over the place,” Haney added. “We’re not going to do it like that this time around.”
Haney indicated that if Garcia does not adjust his position, he would pivot to a unification bout against WBA welterweight champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero instead.
How both fighters rebuilt at 147
Since their first meeting, Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) was suspended for one year by the New York State Athletic Commission on June 20, 2024, after testing positive for the performance-enhancing drug Ostarine in samples collected around the first Haney fight. The commission also fined him $10,000, ordered forfeiture of his contract purse (over $1 million to Golden Boy Promotions), and officially changed the result to a no contest.
Garcia had weighed in at 143.25 pounds for that fight, 3.25 pounds over the 140-pound super lightweight limit, making him ineligible to win the WBC title on the night regardless of the result.
Garcia’s suspension was lifted in April 2025 and returned the following month against Romero, losing a unanimous decision in Times Square. He bounced back by capturing the WBC welterweight title with a dominant decision victory over Mario Barrios on February 21, 2026, dropping Barrios in the first round.
Haney, meanwhile, moved up to welterweight and became a three-division champion with a unanimous decision over Brian Norman Jr. on November 22, 2025, claiming the WBO belt. He is currently ranked No. 9 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list.
The first fight still looms
Despite the no contest ruling, the physical reality of the first bout, in which Garcia dropped Haney three times en route to a majority decision on the night, continues to shape the narrative.
Haney himself acknowledged he underestimated Garcia. “I came into that fight overconfident. I felt like a guy like Ryan couldn’t beat me,” he said. “I thought that I was going to run him over. I didn’t take him as seriously as I should have.”
Romero, who has faced both men, offered a blunter assessment on The Last Stand Podcast: “They could fight a hundred times. Ryan knocks him out a hundred times.”
What comes next
The September 5 date has been put into the public conversation by Haney’s side, but the gap between a targeted date and a signed contract remains. Garcia’s camp has not publicly responded to the timeline, and the revenue split appears to be the central sticking point. If talks stall, Haney has already named his alternative: Romero and the WBA belt.
