Devin Haney Targets Ryan Garcia After Liam Paro — But the Unification Must Come First

Devin Haney already knows which fight he wants if he defeats Liam Paro on December 19.

Speaking to FightHype in comments reported by Boxing News, Haney identified Ryan Garcia as his preferred opponent beyond the upcoming welterweight title unification at Chase Center in San Francisco. The appeal is obvious. Garcia represents unfinished business, commercial attention and an opportunity for Haney to rewrite the most controversial chapter of his career.

But Garcia is not the fight directly in front of him.

Top Rank has announced that Haney, the WBO welterweight champion, will face IBF champion Paro in a unification bout scheduled for DAZN pay-per-view. Haney enters with the momentum of his unanimous-decision victory over Brian Norman Jr., which the WBO records as the result that made him its welterweight champion. Beating Paro would add a second title and establish Haney as one of the division’s central figures.

Losing would reduce every Garcia rematch and undisputed-title discussion to fantasy matchmaking.

Haney may want revenge, but Paro controls whether he has the championship leverage to pursue it.

Garcia Gives Haney the Personal Fight He Wants Most

Haney did not hide his preference when discussing his options after Paro. According to Boxing News, he called Garcia “the fight that I want the most” while making clear that his immediate attention remains on the unification.

The motivation goes beyond money.

Haney and Garcia met in Brooklyn on April 20, 2024, producing a result that shaped both careers before being officially removed from the record. Garcia initially received a decision victory, but the outcome was later changed to a no-contest after he tested positive for ostarine. The Guardian, reporting on Garcia’s settlement with the New York State Athletic Commission, detailed the overturned result and his suspension.

That distinction matters. Garcia does not hold an official victory over Haney, and Haney does not carry an official defeat from the fight.

The images and damage from that night did not disappear with the commission’s ruling, however. Garcia dropped Haney during the contest and left the ring with a performance that influenced how the public evaluated both men. The official record was corrected, but the competitive questions remained.

That is why Haney’s desire to “right that wrong,” as quoted by Boxing News, carries genuine weight. A rematch would allow him to answer Garcia inside the ring instead of relying on a regulatory decision to define what happened afterward.

It would also be one of the most marketable fights available to him. The history is already established, the controversy requires little explanation and both fighters would enter knowing that the rematch could reshape the public interpretation of their first meeting.

Still, wanting the fight does not make it next.

Paro Will Determine Whether Haney’s Reign Has Real Weight

Haney’s victory over Norman gave him the WBO championship and an important result at welterweight. According to the WBO, Haney won that November 22, 2025 bout by unanimous decision.

Paro now provides the test that can turn a title-winning performance into the beginning of a legitimate championship reign.

Top Rank’s announcement identifies Paro as the IBF champion and confirms that both belts will be at stake on December 19. The promotion is presenting the fight with Devin Haney Promotions in association with No Limit Boxing and TGB Promotions. It is not a stay-busy appearance or a placeholder while Haney waits for Garcia. It is a unification between two current champions.

Victory would give Haney two welterweight titles and considerably strengthen his authority in any negotiation that follows. He would no longer be selling only his name, his history with Garcia or his accomplishments in lighter divisions. He would be negotiating as a unified champion with two significant welterweight wins behind him.

That would also provide validation for the Norman result. One championship victory can establish a fighter as a titleholder. Defeating another champion in the next major step begins to establish control over a division.

Paro has every reason to reject the idea that he is merely standing between Haney and a more glamorous opponent. He owns one of the championships Haney needs, and his presence changes the stakes of the entire conversation. If Paro wins, the Garcia rematch may remain commercially possible at some point, but Haney’s proposed path toward divisional supremacy would be broken.

The leverage would belong to Paro.

That is the danger in discussing the next attraction before the current opponent has received full recognition. Haney can prefer Garcia while still understanding that Paro is the fighter who will determine the value of his next move.

The future plans only sound convincing if Haney wins.

Garcia’s Next Move Remains Unsettled

Haney is not the only fighter whose future must be resolved before a rematch can become realistic.

The Ring reported in October that negotiations for a fight between Garcia and Teofimo Lopez had advanced, with the matchup being targeted for early 2027. The report indicated meaningful discussions, but no reviewed source confirmed that the fight had been finalized.

Haney has said he would consider either Garcia or Lopez in connection with an undisputed welterweight championship opportunity. His preference remains Garcia because of their history, but a Lopez fight could carry its own divisional importance depending on which championships are available when the matchup is made.

That qualification cannot be ignored.

Boxing’s titles move through mandatory defenses, vacancies, sanctioning-body decisions and negotiations that often change before a proposed fight reaches contract stage. Haney’s idea of facing the Garcia-Lopez winner for the undisputed championship describes an ambition, not a confirmed championship structure. There is not yet enough information to establish that all four major welterweight titles would be available in such a fight.

Garcia has also publicly introduced another possibility. Boxing News reported on November 11 that Garcia claimed during a livestream that he planned to face Floyd Mayweather Jr. on February 6.

That should be treated strictly as an unconfirmed proposal.

The report did not provide confirmation of a signed contract, and Garcia’s statement does not establish that Mayweather will return for the matchup. Until promoters, broadcasters or the fighters’ representatives announce a completed agreement, Garcia-Mayweather belongs in the category of public discussion rather than scheduled competition.

The same restraint applies to Haney-Garcia. None of the reviewed sources confirms that their representatives have begun formal rematch negotiations.

At present, Haney has named the opponent he wants. Garcia has been connected to Lopez and has publicly proposed Mayweather. Those are multiple possible directions, not a settled schedule.

The Record Is Clearer Than the Matchmaking

The reliable part of this story is what has already happened and what has officially been announced.

Haney defeated Norman by unanimous decision to win the WBO welterweight championship, according to the WBO. Top Rank has confirmed that he will face IBF champion Paro on December 19 at Chase Center. That fight is the only immediate matchup involving Haney that has moved beyond discussion.

The Garcia history is also clear when described accurately. Garcia initially received the decision in 2024, but the New York State Athletic Commission settlement changed the result to a no-contest following the positive ostarine tests, as reported by The Guardian. It should not be presented as an official Garcia victory or a Haney defeat.

What remains unresolved is the sporting meaning of that night.

Haney can argue that the failed tests and overturned result prevent Garcia from claiming a legitimate victory. Garcia can point to what occurred between the opening and final bells. Supporters of either fighter can continue debating which facts deserve the most weight.

A rematch would provide the most direct answer, but even that fight requires both men to arrive at the same point in their careers at the same time.

For Haney, that means defeating Paro.

For Garcia, it means finalizing his next opponent and remaining available afterward.

Only then can promoters evaluate whether the rematch makes competitive and financial sense—and whether any broader undisputed-title scenario is actually possible.

Until those conditions are met, Haney-Garcia is a compelling idea attached to an unfinished chain of events.

Paro Is the Fight That Makes Everything Else Possible

Haney’s interest in Garcia is understandable because boxing careers are shaped by more than official records. Public memory matters. Perception matters. The way a fighter responds to controversy can become nearly as important as the controversy itself.

A victory over Garcia would give Haney a form of closure that a no-contest ruling could never provide.

A victory over Paro offers something different: present-day authority.

Haney does not need to explain why Paro matters. The IBF championship supplies the answer. Defeating another reigning titleholder would give him two belts and show that his Norman victory was not an isolated achievement at welterweight.

It would also allow Haney to approach future negotiations from a position built on current accomplishments rather than unresolved history. Garcia might remain the biggest personal fight, while Lopez or another champion could become the more direct route toward undisputed status. Haney would have options because he had earned them.

If Paro wins, those choices narrow immediately. Haney could still pursue Garcia as a major event, but he would no longer be able to frame the rematch as the next step in a unified champion’s march through the division. Any undisputed plan would require reconstruction.

That is why December 19 is not simply the assignment Haney must complete before moving to the fight he really wants.

It is the fight that decides whether the larger plan survives.