- Devin Haney says there is no Ryan Garcia rematch unless Garcia enrols in full VADA drug testing, making it a non-negotiable.
- Haney is pointing to a welterweight unification with Rolando Romero on May 30 as the fight that comes next — Garcia has to wait.
- Luke's take: Haney holds every card here. After the ostarine no-contest, VADA is not a demand, it's the only sensible answer.
Right Then — Haney Is Drawing a Line in the Sand
Right then. Let's not beat around the bush. The Devin Haney versus Ryan Garcia rematch — the fight a huge chunk of the boxing world wants to see again — is not happening any time soon. And if you are looking for a villain in that story, you can put the pitchforks down. Haney is being entirely reasonable.
The WBO welterweight champion has now said, plainly, that he will not entertain a second fight with Garcia unless Ryan enrols in VADA drug testing. Proper, year-round, Olympic-standard testing. Not a couple of rushed tests in the last six weeks of camp. Make no mistake, that is a hard red line, and Haney is right to draw it.
Why VADA, Why Now?
You all remember April 2024. You remember the no-contest. You remember the ostarine finding. That fight — the one Ryan Garcia won in the ring — was eventually scrubbed from the record because of a banned substance. That is the entire backdrop to this conversation, and anyone pretending it isn't is being daft.
Haney has taken a career hit that no amount of PR spin can undo. His unbeaten record carries an asterisk in the public imagination, even though officially the fight is a no-contest. If he is now being asked to step back in the ring with the same opponent, demanding VADA isn't petty. It's the only rational position. Any fighter with an ounce of sense would do exactly the same thing.
Rolando Romero Is the Real Fight Right Now
Here's the bit some people are missing. Haney isn't sat at home waiting for Garcia to pick up the phone. He is preparing for Rolando Romero on May 30 — a proper welterweight unification fight that puts more belts on the line and cleans up a division that has been a mess for two years. That's real. That's booked. That's the priority.
Romero is no joke either. He's levels above where people had him a few years ago, he punches like a mule, and he will absolutely stand there and throw with Haney if Haney lets him. It is a legitimate champion versus champion fight and it deserves its own oxygen — not to be treated as a warm-up to a Garcia rematch that might never materialise.
Luke's Take — Haney Holds All the Cards
Here's the honest truth. If you know, you know — Haney has all the leverage in this situation, and Garcia's camp is slowly realising it. Ryan has to beat Romero… sorry, wrong Romero. Ryan has already got past Mario Barrios and holds the WBC welterweight title. Fair play. But holding a belt doesn't get you a Haney rematch. Passing drug tests does.
My prediction? Haney beats Romero on May 30 on the cards — probably 116-112 or so, maybe a knockdown in the second half — and then sits on his throne. Garcia will either agree to VADA by the summer or he will spend the rest of 2026 shouting into the void while the rest of the division moves on. I think he eventually agrees, because the money is there and the legacy needs it. But it's going to take him another few months of noise before he climbs down.
Until then? Proper fights, proper testing, proper champions. That's the Haney plan. And for once, it is hard to argue with him.