Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia and the night that still has an asterisk

On April 20, 2024, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Ryan Garcia dropped Devin Haney three times and walked out with a majority-decision win. Two months later, the result was gone.

On June 20, 2024, the New York State Athletic Commission overturned Garcia’s win to a no-contest after he tested positive for the banned substance ostarine on both the day before and the day of the fight. He was suspended for a year and forfeited his purse. Haney’s 31-0 record was reinstated.

Even without a result in the book, Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia remains one of the most talked-about nights of the decade.

Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia: The fight

The backdrop was strange before the first bell. Haney was defending his WBC super lightweight title. Garcia weighed 143.2. The title could no longer change hands, and Garcia was hit with a seven-figure penalty paid to his opponent, but the fight went ahead as a 12-round contest at a catchweight.

Garcia’s left hook did the rest. He dropped Haney with it in the seventh, the tenth and the eleventh. Referee Harvey Dock deducted a point from Garcia in the seventh for punching on the break. It did not matter. The judges returned scores of 112-112, 114-110 and 115-109, all in Garcia’s favour. Haney, 31-0 going in, had been beaten — and, for the first time in his 32-fight career, been put on the canvas. Aside from the knockdowns, Haney won the exchanges, but the speed and power (cough cough) of Garcia proved the difference.

The aftermath of Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia

The positive tests flipped the story. Garcia’s win was wiped, his record re-listed, and Haney’s unbeaten mark returned. Garcia was suspended until April 2025 and forfeited his purse.

Both men were back on the same card in May 2025, the widely criticised Times Square show. Garcia lost a unanimous decision to Rolando Romero in his comeback fight. Haney beat former unified champion Jose Ramirez on the same night. The planned immediate rematch was put on ice.

Haney rebuilt quickly. He moved up to 147, stopped Brian Norman Jr. in November 2025 and took the WBO welterweight title. Garcia rebuilt more slowly. He returned to form on February 21, 2026, dropping Mario Barrios in the first round on the way to a unanimous-decision win and the WBC welterweight title. Both were impressive in their respective fights.

Two years on, both men hold welterweight belts. The rematch that looked dead in 2024 is back on the table, with both in strong positions. A rematch is surely inevitable.

Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia: The historical impact

The night itself would have been one of the upsets of the decade on its own. The three knockdowns and the speed of Garcia’s left hands had the boxing world watching open-mouthed. Despite the subsequent findings, that fight is still watched by many and spoken about even more.

The Ostarine case gave the story its second life. It pushed the PED conversation back to the top of the sport, hardened the anti-doping demands attached to every major negotiation since, and tied Garcia’s comeback to a set of testing protocols he has had to answer to in every camp that followed. The loss, the tape and the asterisk — Haney still has to live with all three.

Whether the rematch happens this year or next, April 20, 2024, is what Haney–Garcia 2 is really about. Garcia has to prove he can beat Haney on even terms. Haney has to prove he can take Garcia’s left hand. Many questions remain unanswered, and only Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia 2 can provide the answers.