Garcia and Haney faced off for the WBC super lightweight title in April 2024. The lead-up to the fight was wild. Garcia acted strangely, made crazy claims about being kidnapped, and even talked about Haney's religion. He showed up to weigh-in drinking beer and didn't make weight.
Despite all that, Garcia knocked Haney down several times during the fight. He landed 41% of his power punches, way more than Haney's previous opponents who only managed 25%. Garcia won by majority decision on the scorecards.
But things got messy after the fight. It turned out Garcia failed two drug tests. The result was changed to a no-contest, and Garcia got banned for a year, until April 2025.
Now, Garcia's talking about a rematch. In an interview with Manouk Akopyan, he said:
"Run it back the same way, just a little higher weight class."
Both fighters will probably move up to welterweight eventually, so this makes sense.
Garcia's also still chasing a rematch with Gervonta 'Tank' Davis after losing to him in April 2023. Meanwhile, Haney might be looking at a big fight with Teofimo Lopez, the WBO super-lightweight champ. They're trying to make that happen, but Lopez says Haney turned down a big offer.
For now, Garcia's got an exhibition fight coming up. He'll face Rukiya Anpo on December 30, 2024. Anpo missed a recent press conference because he overslept.