‘I fought somebody on PEDs, we move forward’: Haney focused on Ramirez, not Garcia

Devin Haney has his focus on Jose Ramirez, not last year’s fight with Ryan Garcia.

Devin Haney will return to action on May 2, moving up to welterweight to face Jose Ramirez, a former two-time titleholder who is also making the move up from 140 lbs.

Haney hasn’t been in the ring since his overturned loss last year to Ryan Garcia, a fight mired in layers of controversy, including Garcia not making weight, then failing a drug test after it was over. The official result was later changed to a no-contest.

Haney (31-0, 15 KO) dismissed his fight with Garcia and the idea that it “exposed” him in any way, saying he’s ready to just move on.

“I fought somebody on PEDs, and that’s how that fight was, but we move forward,” he said. “The world wants to see what Devin Haney’s going to show up, and I look forward to giving everybody those answers.”

Asked about taking a full year off from boxing, Haney said he had always planned to do that after the Garcia bout, and that he purposely chose a strong opponent for his return.

“I took the year off to spend some time with my family. I just had a baby, and I wanted to rest and recover and come back when I felt it was the right time,” he said.

“But when I came back, I wanted to face the best fighters in the world, I didn’t want to face any regular Joe Blow, I wanted to fight a two-time world champion like Jose Ramirez. That’s why we picked him.”

Haney also believes that welterweight will be the right division for him on his return, even with only two fights at 140 lbs.

“It was definitely time. My body was maturing,” he said. “140 was hard for me to make weight. I felt good for one fight, the second fight I didn’t feel as good. It’s time.”