FRISCO, Texas – Eddie Hearn’s competitors at Golden Boy Promotions probably have other ideas than Hearn’s plan for a Devin Haney-Ryan Garcia fight.
Hearn – whose company, Matchroom Boxing USA, promotes Haney – hopes that lightweight championship match can happen before the end of 2020. Garcia himself has expressed interest in exploring a fight against Haney sometime in 2021.
Either way, a potential bout between Las Vegas’ Haney (24-0, 15 KOs) and Garcia (20-0, 17 KOs), of Victorville, California, is shaping up as one of the more intriguing fights that can be made in boxing.
The 21-year-old Haney already has won a lightweight title, albeit an interim version of the WBC’s 135-pound championship by beating an unknown opponent, Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (11-1, 7 KOs). The 20-year-old Garcia, who’s promoted by Oscar De La Hoya’s company, is rapidly ascending in the lightweight division after a pair of first-round knockouts of the Philippines’ Romero Duno (22-2, 17 KOs) and Nicaragua’s Francisco Fonseca (25-3-2, 19 KOs) in his past two fights.
“The great thing about Devin Haney is, at 21 years of age, him and Ryan Garcia should be built into a super fight,” Hearn said. “These guys have so much confidence and so much belief, there’s no need to build it. That fight, for me, should come in November, December. We believe that DAZN will get behind that fight. They’re gonna have to get their checkbook out. We know they’ll do [it] for these big fights. But for me, Devin Haney-Ryan Garcia is a super fight. And I really hope we get that.”
Haney called out Garcia in the ring following his one-punch knockout of Fonseca last month in Anaheim, California.
Haney likely will return to the ring in June or July, once he is fully recovered from shoulder surgery. The WBC lightweight champion in recess hasn’t chosen an opponent for his return to the ring.
Garcia is expected to face former WBA and WBC lightweight champ Jorge Linares (48-5, 30 KOs) in his next appearance. That fight could take place as soon as July 11 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
If Garcia and Haney win those fights, Hearn is eager to match them by the end of this year.
“After that, let’s just do it,” Hearn said. “Let’s just roll into a huge fight. They’re willing to take the risk, and I think fans will respect two outstanding, young fighters getting in the ring at such an early stage in their career.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.