Mikey Garcia sees Devin Haney’s size as an advantage in a possible fight with Shakur Stevenson, but says the matchup would remain closely contested.
Boxing News reported Garcia’s assessment on October 20, citing his comments to ESNEWS about the proposed 145-pound meeting between the American champions.
Garcia told ESNEWS, according to the Boxing News report: “I think Devin has a size advantage, but they’re both very skilled fighters. You can never count out Shakur.”
The former four-division champion also suggested their technical approaches could produce a less action-heavy contest, while offering plenty for viewers who appreciate that style.
His assessment concerns a hypothetical matchup. The weight discussions did not produce a confirmed fight, and the two camps have offered different explanations for the breakdown.
An October 16 MiddleEasy report documenting their public exchanges sets out the disagreement: Stevenson said talks moved from 144 pounds to 145 before Haney demanded 147.
Stevenson attributed that final demand to an email from Haney’s lawyer. That is his account of the negotiations, rather than an independently established sequence.
Haney disputed the explanation. He said he had accepted 145 pounds, then blamed Stevenson’s side for introducing a rehydration clause.
Neither fighter published a complete proposed contract or the underlying correspondence in those exchanges. The competing statements leave the private terms unresolved.
The two conditions govern different things. A 145-pound catchweight sets the weigh-in limit below welterweight’s 147-pound ceiling and above super lightweight’s 140-pound maximum.
A rehydration clause instead concerns weight regained after the official weigh-in. Agreeing to the initial limit does not automatically settle that separate provision.
That distinction helps explain why a public catchweight compromise could coexist with continuing contractual disagreement. It does not establish which boxer was responsible for negotiations failing.
The WBO’s March 2026 record documents Haney’s unanimous-decision victory over Brian Norman Jr. on November 22, 2025, which secured his welterweight championship.
The same document records Stevenson beating Teofimo Lopez by unanimous decision on January 31, 2026, and lists him as junior welterweight champion.
Those championship wins provide context for the proposed compromise: Haney established himself at 147 pounds, while Stevenson’s latest title arrived at 140.
Stevenson’s January win also made him a four-division world champion; Haney’s victory over Norman established him as a three-division titleholder.
Boxing News also reported that Stevenson has parted ways with Zuffa Boxing after failing to secure a bout with the promotion.
His stated preference, according to that report, is to compete at 135 or 140 pounds for now, leaving a potential Haney meeting dependent on further agreement.
