The highly anticipated matchup between WBC super lightweight titlist Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia was already a done deal.
The fight was announced on Feb. 9 and a viral showdown between the fighters ensued in a fiery fashion immediately after in Las Vegas during Super Bowl festivities.
It was believed that the bout would be staged in Las Vegas as well, Haney’s adopted hometown, but on Wednesday, Hall of Fame fighter turned promoter Oscar De La Hoya revealed that the showdown will be staged at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
It was also announced that an open-to-the-public press tour is set to begin next week. Proceedings will kick off at the Palladium Times Square in New York on February 27 and at the Avalon in Hollywood, California on February 29.
The fight will stream on DAZN and be promoted by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Matchroom Boxing and the fighters’ promotional outfits.
“Trust me when I say you don’t want to miss these press conferences,” Garcia wrote on social media on Wednesday. “I have a surprise for New York during the press conference … a new teammate.”
Marquee matchups have been missing in New York of late. The last time the Barclays Center hosted a boxing event was in October 2022 when Deontay Wilder knocked out Robert Helenius in one round.
The nearby Madison Square Garden in Manhattan – long billed as the Mecca of boxing – also did not host a boxing event in the main arena in 2023.
Haney and Garcia will now head to The Empire State looking to settle the score surrounding their yearslong rivalry. They’ve gone 3-3 against each other during their amateur career.
The former undisputed lightweight champion Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) dominated Regis Prograis via unanimous decision in December to pick up the 140-pound title he now owns.
Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) rebounded from an April knockout loss to Gervonta Davis to deliver a knockout of his own in December, an eighth-round stoppage win against Oscar Duarte.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.