De La Hoya Still Wants Haney Vs. Garcia; Haney Looking Elsewhere
Despite his fighter’s desire to face Rolando Romero, Oscar De La Hoya still plans on making Ryan Garcia vs Devin Haney.
Garcia initially called out Haney after his win over Regis Prograis to become the WBC junior welterweight champion. De La Hoya expected talks to begin soon, only for Garcia to change his mind. He pulled out of talks, with Romero being the focus. Both fights allow Garcia to win a world title since Romero holds the WBA junior welterweight title.
Romero is seen as the easier fight, with Garcia calling the decision the ‘right business’ move. The decision came shortly after Garcia was pictured in Floyd Mayweather’s company, with suggestions this may have influenced his decision. De La Hoya has reacted, feeling his fighter is getting bad advice.
De La Hoya On Garcia
“Ryan is young; he’s just now maturing. I strongly feel he has a lot of bad advice, I really do, and I feel for him because there are a lot of people out there who are going to give you the wrong advice. It’s a cruel world out there when you’re the top dog, and you’re the money maker, and you’re coming up, and you’re young.
“You have all these whispers in your ear. I just hope that Ryan finds that one person that is going to give him the best advice in the world and listens to him, and wants the best for him. “I thought I could be that person, but he listens to other people. It’s something I can’t control. All I can do is try to do is do the best job possible for him. He asked me to get Haney, and that’s what I’m going to gun for. Hopefully in March or April,” De La Hoya said
Haney’s Alternatives
Despite this being the case, Haney is reportedly exploring his other options. His father, Bill Haney, is intent on trying to make a fight with Teofimo Lopez. The ‘Takeover’ holds the WBO junior welterweight title, a belt he has had since he beat Josh Taylor. He makes the first defense of the title against Jamaine Ortiz on February 8, 2024. Lopez is the favorite since Ortiz is having his first fight in the division since moving up from lightweight. Provided Lopez wins, Bill Haney was ready to make the fight.
“Listen, whenever Teo’s ready. He’s got work to do with Jamaine Ortiz,” Bill Haney stated
Outside of that, Haney could face his WBC mandatory Sandor Martin or move up to 147. Martin is not the biggest name, but he did put in a solid performance in his split decision loss to Teofimo Lopez. He followed that up with two knockout wins to put himself in the mandatory position.
Haney could also move up to 147 and potentially face Mario Barrios. He is the WBC interim welterweight champion. A win over Barrios puts Haney in a title shot against Terence Crawford, or he gets the full title if Bud vacates. Either way, Hearn felt there were plenty of options on the table.
“Yeah, there’s a mandatory that’s due [for Haney’s newly won WBC light welterweight title against Sandor Martin]. It’s not the flavor of the month, that fight, with no disrespect to Sandor. At some point, he [Devin] might have to deal with it, and maybe there’s a move to 147,” Hearn stated
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