Undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney has to be the most interested observer of the 136-pound catchweight bout featuring Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia on April 22.
Haney is preparing to defend all of his 135-pound titles in a May 20 bout with Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Should Haney remain victorious, a menu of options featuring the likes of Davis and Garcia or Top Rank stablemates Shakur Stevenson, Teofimo Lopez Jr. or Josh Taylor could all be feasible next opponents for the unbeaten Las Vegas-based fighter.
Haney, however, has made it clear that his days as a lightweight are numbered, and that he’s looking to soon move up to 140 pounds.
Anyone looking for a potential fight with Haney would likely have to consider a weight at or around 140 pounds instead of 135.
Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) knows all too well about making consolations around weight, as he had to agree to fight Davis at 136 pounds with just a 10-pound rehydration clause.
In a recent interview with Marcos Villegas on Fight Hub TV, Haney opined on how he felt the fight between Davis and Garcia would play out.
“I think it’s a good fight. Ryan has got the height, the length, the speed, but Tank has that power; he has that neutralizer. He has that experience; he’s been tested and been proven,” said Haney.
“The safe bet would be Tank, but you can’t count Ryan out as well. He has speed, he has power, and I don’t think he’s scared. He’s coming in there to win. We’ve seen Tank go down [on the scorecards] in rounds.
“We’ve seen [Garcia] come back [against Luke Campbell from a knockdown and score] a knockout, but we haven’t seen what he can do when he can’t against a puncher that he can’t just sleep on. If Tank were to blow him out of the water, we wouldn’t be surprised.”
Haney said he is open to fighting the winner of Davis-Garcia.
“Yeah, yeah, but it all starts with Loma, and once I’m victorious there, the winner, we would look to face,” said Haney.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.