Perhaps the road to redemption lies through ‘The Dream’. Otherwise, why else would Ryan Garcia now call on His Excellency Turk Alalshikh, who has shown interest in Devin Haney‘s tentative return? It’s been nearly three months since that infamous boxing match, which sorely affected the careers of the two young boxers. Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney squared off on April 20 at New York’s Barclays Center. Though Garcia won, following his failure to clear successive drug tests, the match was ruled a no-contest. Punitive measures saw him being suspended from the sport for a year.

Now if only everything ended there, it would have been fine, and Garcia could have come back by next April. But his despicable online rants made things worse. Left with no option, taking a strong stand, the WBC expelled ‘KingRy’ from their ranks early in July. Nevertheless, Ryan Garcia’s presence at events often finds fans talking about his return. Lying low through the ordeal, Devin Haney, who fans saw at the Terence Crawford–Israil Madrimov fight in LA, has hinted at exploring a comeback. The news has been gaining considerable attention. Seemingly, it roused HE Alalshikh’s curiosity as well. Now only Ryan Garcia had to join to make an interesting plotline.

Let’s get back to the beat: Ryan Garcia prompting for a Devin Haney rematch

It would be better to follow the message in sequence to be able to understand the latest development better. It started with Devin Haney implying how boxing might be missing something critical since the time he took the break. Perhaps it was time he reclaimed the stage and put things in order.

His Excellency Turki Alalshikh promptly responded back, “Deliver the job champ.” When (using emojis) Haney replied that he is eagerly anticipating the same, the Riyadh Season head added that he, his team, and the boxing world at large are looking forward to ‘The Dream’ visiting Riyadh.

“We can set that up in Riyadh if you would like Mr. Turki,” jumped in Ryan Garcia while responding to HE Alalshikh’s tweet. He continued, “I will do all you ask including drug testing everyday So please if you can make it happen.”

The post might gain some traction, especially since it follows rumors of ‘KingRy’ in talks with boxing great Manny Pacquiao for a year-end exhibition in Japan. Incidentally, his appearance at a show in the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ saw Ryan Garcia cause a commotion.

The stage configuration for the stars

At the ‘Super Rizin 3’ event in Saitama, a near-brawl erupted following a kickboxer taking a strong exception to the Californian boxer’s presence. Thankfully, the security details prevented the situation from escalating. Later, pictures of Garcia in an intense face-off with the ‘PacMan’ emerged.

Nevertheless, given there are still eight months to go before ‘KingRy’s boxing ban eventually gets over, many fans might be wondering, even for an exhibition, how he is going to enter the ring. As for Devin Haney, based on his request, the WBC had granted him the ‘champion in recess’ status. So if he returns, then he could either go for a title defense or chase other champions for a title unification. If it’s the former, then he might have to go back to the face-off with Sandor Martin, the number one ranked contender in the WBC ranks.

Earlier talks for a match between Haney and Martin collapsed on account of purse bid issues. Otherwise, the big grudge match with Teofimo Lopez remains a viable option. Fans would be keenly watching out for the new round of moves and grooves in the light welterweight division.

Do you find a Ryan Garcia-Devin Haney rematch in Riyadh an exciting proposition?