Devin Haney targets Liam Paro in upcoming welterweight bout

Devin Haney, who is 27 years old, prepares for a December 19 bout against IBF welterweight champion Liam Paro at the Chase Center in San Francisco. Haney holds a professional record of 33-0 with 15 knockouts and 18 wins by decision. He secured the WBO welterweight title on November 22, 2025, by defeating Brian Norman Jr. via unanimous decision in a 12-round fight at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This December fight against Paro aims to unify titles in the 147-pound division. I think Haney makes a smart move by targeting Paro instead of waiting for the rematch with Ryan Garcia. Haney, who stands 5 feet 8 inches tall with a 72-inch reach, trains at the Capetillo & TM Boxing Gym in Las Vegas with Ben Davison and Bill Haney. His previous victories include a unanimous decision win over Jose Ramirez on May 2, 2025, and a win over Regis Prograis in 2023. Haney remains a three-division champion with career earnings totaling $10.3 million. He previously defeated Vasiliy Lomachenko in a bout that generated $9,000,000 in revenue at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada. In 2022, he also defeated George Kambosos Jr. in Melbourne to retain his WBA, IBF, WBO, and The Ring lightweight titles.

Garcia’s return and the rematch

The WBC Board of Governors voted to lift the suspension for Ryan Garcia following his successful and documented rehabilitation process. Garcia holds the WBC welterweight title after he stopped Mario Barrios in the second round on September 12, 2026, in Las Vegas. His professional record is 26-2 with 21 knockouts. The April 20, 2024, fight against Haney became a no-contest because Garcia tested positive for ostarine, which resulted in a one-year ban and a $1.2 million fine from the New York State Athletic Commission in New York City. If Garcia and Haney win their respective December assignments, they will advance to an October rematch in Saudi Arabia. You already know the division is chaotic. I find it absurd that the division still revolves around a fight that was originally ruled a no-contest because of a failed drug test. Garcia, who is 28 years old, turned professional at age 17 and has trained with Eddy Reynoso and Joe Goossen. He previously held the WBC interim lightweight title in 2021 after defeating Luke Campbell in Dallas, Texas. The rematch is being organized by Turki Alalshikh for a May card somewhere in the United States. Following his loss to Davis in 2023, where he weighed 135.5 pounds and lost by seventh-round knockout, Garcia recently defeated Conor Benn to retain his championship, and his fight with Haney in 2024 generated $35,000,000 in revenue.

WBO enforcement and division status

The WBO ordered a mandatory challenger for Shakur Stevenson, naming Raymond Muratalla to face the junior welterweight champion. Haney remains a top figure in the 140-pound division as well. His career includes wins over Zaur Abdullaev, Alfredo Santiago, and Yuriorkis Gamboa. Paro lacks the massive footprint that Haney or Garcia maintain in the welterweight class. Will the WBO enforcement regarding Stevenson’s mandatory status disrupt the planned May card in the United States? I find the WBO’s maneuvering with Stevenson and Muratalla to be a distraction from the Haney and Garcia momentum. The WBO junior welterweight championship currently recognizes Shakur Stevenson as the champion. The division also includes interim and regular titleholders like Gary Antuanne Russell and Xander Zayas, and the WBO’s decision to order the Muratalla bout adds another layer of complexity to the division’s hierarchy.