Reality has come crashing down on Ryan Garcia. The last time he tasted success in the ring was two years ago. On December 2, 2023, he knocked out Oscar Duarte. Since then, his career has slid downhill. Now at a crossroads, he hopes to recreate past magic. He needs a win. Only victory separates him from reclaiming his lost stardom.

He admits it is a long way from the heights he reached against Gervonta Davis. Months before the Duarte bout, Ryan Garcia suffered his first career loss to Tank. The fight at T-Mobile Arena set a new record by generating roughly $22 million in gate and 1.2 million PPV buys. His next major bout, the disastrous matchup against Devin Haney, produced a $9 million gate. A rematch with Haney, now a welterweight champion, appears to be the solution he envisions.

The Tank fight still haunts Ryan Garcia – Haney II is his way back

But first, he must clear the hurdle ahead: the title fight against Mario Barrios. A win over Barrios would secure Garcia his first world championship. It would also place him in line for the long-discussed rematch with Haney. Reflecting on the Davis fight, Garcia, known for frequent musings on X, wrote, “To be real, there hasn’t been a fight like my fight with Gervonta.”

The April 22, 2023 bout checked every box of a superfight, and Garcia wants to recapture that scale. Considering the past eighteen months, from a doping scandal to a humbling loss to Rolando Romero and subsequent hand surgery, his urgency to reclaim stardom has only intensified.

The only path he sees is a rematch with Devin Haney. “Only fight I think that has that potential is the Haney rematch, but it’s hard to have that type of super fight energy,” Garcia wrote in another post.

In recent weeks, Garcia has shared posts suggesting a friendlier outreach to Haney.

Garcia-Haney II looms, but the ball is in Garcia’s court

However, the two continue to trade barbs, casting doubt on a second fight. Haney’s father, Bill, has made their stance clear: their focus is on a bout with Rolando Romero, now a WBA champion at 147 pounds.

Much has changed since Garcia’s loss to Davis. The nature of the defeat, the weight disparity, and growing uncertainty around Davis’s future make a rematch unlikely. If Garcia is serious about securing legacy-defining fights, the outcome against Barrios, who has intriguingly enlisted Garcia’s former trainer, Joe Goossen, is critical.

Should Garcia claim the WBC belt, Haney, who may pursue welterweight unification, would eventually have to cross paths with him, making a rematch difficult to avoid. Garcia’s ambitions remain intact, but they now demand discipline and sustained focus. At this stage of his career, he can afford no missteps. One slip, and his words risk becoming mere ramblings. Will fans see Garcia vs. Haney II in 2026?