Ryan Garcia believes that Devin Haney will lose against WBA welterweight champion Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero if he fights in the same timid way he did against Jose Ramirez.
Haney (33-0, 15 KOs) and his dad, Bill, have been pushing for the unification fight against Rolly (17-2, 13 KOs) all week since they won the WBO belt from Norman Jr. on November 22nd.
Rolly’s Power Changes Everything
Ryan says that Haney will “run the whole fight.” He may be right because Rolly is too powerful to be clinched 10+ times per round the way Haney was doing in his ugly, clinch-filled victory over Brian Norman Jr.
The idea is to relieve the erratic, flawed, sometimes chinny Romero of his WBA belt. Then coming to the negotiation table with Kingry (24-2, 20 KOs) in a position of power to get a bigger purse split of the loot.
Garcia Still Holds All the Leverage
I doubt that having two belts will be enough for Haney to get the larger slice of the pie against the more popular Ryan or even a 50-50 deal. Bill must feel that it’s worth a try. If this backfires on him with Rolly knocking out Haney, Bill is going to be kicking himself afterward and laughed at by the fans for steering Devin into this match-up.
Let’s be honest, Haney didn’t look that good in his 12-round unanimous decision win over Norman Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs). That fight was hard to watch with all the holding that Devin was doing, and how mentally lost Norman Jr. was. Pick your poison.
Both fighters were absolutely horrible. Norman Jr. didn’t want to take chances of getting dropped again after suffering a second-round knockdown. And Haney was his usual self, holding, not engaging, and fighting like a guy who had confidence in his chin.
If I were Devin’s dad, I would even consider him fighting Rolly. He hits too hard, and he’d like an old, rusted landmine that had been buried in the ground for 40+ years. It still could go off if messed with. Haney can just wait for the smoke to clear from Ryan’s fight with WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios on February 21, 2026.
The chances are, Garcia will win, and Devin can then fight him afterward. If he loses, that’s the problem. It still wouldn’t be the end of the world. As long as Garcia doesn’t disappear for a year or get popped for a PED, he can return quickly, beat a ham-and-egger, then face Haney. The fight wouldn’t be as appealing as it would have been, but the match-up has lost much of the appeal that it would have.
The Clinching Problem Devin Can’t Fix
Things can’t get too much worse than they are now. Haney has looked so bad in his last two fights that the performances are seen as losses in the real sense. The only people who enjoyed them were Haney fans or those who like watching excessive holding. They call it ‘Smart boxing.’ Unfortunately for Devin, there aren’t many of them. So, his stock has dropped like a rock since his fight with Ryan.
“How do you think Devin does against a puncher like Rolly? I feel he runs the whole fight,” said Ryan Garcia to Fighthype, questioning how Devin Haney would do if he fought Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero in a unification fight at welterweight.
Why Rolly Would Walk Devin Down
It would be a mistake on Haney’s part if he didn’t run against Romero, because he doesn’t have the size or the power to nullify him in that way. Rolly is too powerful to be nullified by holding, and he’s not going to go limp and allow Devin to hold without clubbing him with a free arm.
Norman Jr. fought like a complete novice against Haney and never adapted. Rolly would have an entire camp to prepare for Haney’s holding tactics. That would leave him with one option, and that’s to run all night as he did against Jose Ramirez.
Devin’s Running Won’t Save Him Here
“No, I don’t think he [Haney] knocks [Rolly down]. But if the same fighter that fought [Jose] Ramirez shows up, I don’t even think he wins. He [Rolando] was definitely more patient with me because if he would have got caught, it would have been trouble,” said Ryan.
“I want to see him fight Devin Haney. Why don’t you fight him? That’s a free belt. So, why don’t you just fight him. I don’t think he [Haney] likes that style match-up,” said Garcia about his belief that Rolly has the wrong style for Devin. “The Haney’s love getting the belts. Why don’t you call out Rolly? If that’s so easy, go get it.”