Eddie Hearn: Diaz Thinks Ryan Garcia Is Easier Fight Than Devin Haney

Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn believes Joseph Diaz feels Ryan Garcia is an easier fight than Devin Haney.

Diaz captured the interim WBC Lightweight Title with a unanimous decision victory over Javier Fortuna. Rather than go into a title unification bout against WBC Champion Haney, Diaz is now expected to meet former interim titleholder Garcia.

Appearing on the DAZN Boxing Show, Hearn said that Diaz went with who he feels is the easier opponent (h/t BoxingScene.com).

“I mean, I’ve said to you guys before, like it’s the most bizarre situation, where you’ve got two guys now – one in Ryan Garcia, who won a final eliminator to fight Devin Haney and ducked him – and then one in Jo Jo Diaz, that fought a final eliminator to fight Devin Haney and he’s now talking about a Ryan Garcia fight. I will say that Jo Jo Diaz has made some, you know, like I believe that he’s up for that fight. But I also think that he thinks the Ryan Garcia fight is an easier fight. And I think he wants to explore that option as well.”

Haney is coming off a successful title defense against Jorge Linares. In a sight that hadn’t been seen before, “The Dream” was rocked late in the fight and had to go through some adversity. Still, he was able to pull off the unanimous decision victory. This marked his third successful title defense.

Hearn said that if Diaz vs. Garcia ultimately takes place, then Haney isn’t short on potential opponents.

“Devin messaged me [Tuesday] night and, you know, I think Bill [feels] the same, as if to say, ‘Look, we wanna start talks now with Jo Jo Diaz.’ You know, and ultimately, it’s gonna come down to which way Jo Jo Diaz wants to go. We’re not gonna wait for Jo Jo Diaz. You know, with all due respect to him, like, you know, he’s a good fighter, but we’ve got plenty of other options for Devin Haney.

“But that’s just the mandatory that we were supposed to be fighting. So, we’ll speak to the WBC, and we’ll see how that lies. But ultimately, if Jo Jo Diaz chooses to fight Ryan Garcia over Devin Haney, there’s not a lot we can do about it. We’ve just gotta make sure that we get the right opponent for Devin Haney.”