WBC Super-Lightweight Champion Devin Haney has revealed a private exchange after witnessing Floyd Mayweather Jr’s meet-up with rival and likely opponent, Ryan Garcia.
Haney moved up to super-lightweight towards the end of 2023 after becoming the first ever undisputed four-belt lightweight champion. Already, he has claimed one of the four titles there, whitewashing Regis Prograis for the WBC crown last month. A high-profile clash with Ryan Garcia is now under discussion.
Garcia will be hoping to fare better than he did in his last blockbuster encounter, where he suffered a first career defeat against Gervonta Davis in the headline catchweight bout of a pay-per-view card that amassed over one million buys.
Now joining Haney at a more natural weight, Garcia got himself back into the winning column with an eighth-round knockout win over Oscar Duarte, where he appeared far more comfortable than he did down at lightweight.
It will take a career-best performance if Garcia is to become the first man to defeat Haney, whom many suggest could be the 2023 Fighter of the Year. Perhaps with that in mind, Garcia recently met with Floyd Mayweather Jr, who would undeniably have some words of wisdom for the 25-year-old superstar.
In response to the link-up, Haney was quick to send Garcia some private messages on Instagram, where he told his fellow 140lber that ‘Floyd can’t save or help him’.
Devin Haney publicly posting his DMs with Ryan Garcia after seeing Garcia hanging out with Floyd Mayweather overnight… pic.twitter.com/kxYDK4UrFj
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) January 3, 2024
It seems that Garcia is favouring the WBC and Haney route despite initial reports that he wanted to face Rolando Romero for the WBA Title in 2024.
With Romero now poised to face the winner of Ohara Davies-Ismael Barroso, it seems that Haney-Garcia has been given the green light. As mandatory challenger, Sandor Martin is set to wait in the wings for the victor.