Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney enjoy a rivalry that rarely grabs headlines. What stands out is how the two often endorse and extend subtle support for each other. The way Stevenson defended the welterweight champion’s controversial loss to Ryan Garcia on Joe Rogan’s show is a clear example. As the UFC color commentator tried to separate Garcia’s majority decision win – later overturned to a no contest – from his PED allegations, Stevenson pushed back, saying Haney might have secured a victory had the fight been on fair and equal terms.

“But the problem is he got caught,” Stevenson insisted when Rogan pressed about Garcia’s performance against Haney. “He got caught. So like, I don’t know. Like for me personally, if you got caught, it’s like I can’t really—I can’t give you the credit for that. Right. I don’t give him credit for that day, that night with Devin.”

“But that little bit of more power probably wasn’t enough to hurt Devin,” he added when Rogan argued that PEDs might have helped Garcia secure the three knockdowns. “Cuz if you really watch the fight and pay attention to the fight—and people might not agree with me on this—I feel like Devin was winning the moments that were quiet.”

The light welterweight champion claimed most viewers focused only on the knockdowns Ryan Garcia scored. But that shows only part of it. He felt Devin Haney managed to outbox the Victorville native with a disciplined game plan.

So if Ryan Garcia hadn’t knocked him down, Haney likely would have won the match, Stevenson stated. Rogan pushed back, stressing that the knockdowns were what mattered most. Shakur Stevenson countered, asking whether Garcia managed it because of the boost from ostarine.

The Olympic silver medalist’s stance isn’t entirely new.

Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney keep the heat on Ryan Garcia’s PED past

Garcia’s recent fight against Mario Barrios, which made him a first-time world title holder, saw Devin Haney taunt him, saying Garcia was “off that good juice.” It wasn’t long before Stevenson echoed the sentiments, saying he felt likewise in round 1 when Garcia knocked down Barrios.

The four-division champion’s comments follow Garcia’s public call-out. But past experience – referring to the controversy surrounding the Haney fight – appears to have pushed Stevenson to set a few conditions for their matchup.

“Was VADA involved in this fight (against Barrios)? Because I saw (Garcia) against Rolly (Romero) and he didn’t look like that,” Stevenson reportedly said. “If he’s fighting me next, I’m all for the challenge, but VADA will be involved.”

Similar conditions have now been set by Haney, as reports indicate his team and Garcia are in talks to make their rematch, which would be a welterweight title unification.

“The Ryan Garcia fight is the biggest fight in boxing, in my opinion,” Haney told ‘Inside The Ring.’ “It does so much for me and my career, my resume, but like I said, he has to be realistic in these negotiations. I’m not here to just take anything. Ryan Garcia, when the ball was in his court, he didn’t make weight, he showed up with a positive drug test—it was all over the place. We’re not going to do it like that this time around. We’re going to do it the right way. If he doesn’t want to do it the right way, then we’ll move on.”

For his part, Ryan Garcia may want to move past the controversy. He even insists – especially after the Barrios win – that he’s the “A-side” in the negotiations with Haney. But it appears fallout from their first fight on April 20, 2024, continues to linger.