Well known US boxer Ryan Garcia missed out on something big this week on Jimmy Fallon and then some.
He talked the talk and announced Conor Benn as his next opponent.
Benn had a great win over Chris Eubank Jr recently but Devin Haney, like Garcia, is a world welterweight champion and is a bigger name in America than ever.
A Haney vs Garcia 2 rematch would have wowed America and sent waves in America if he had used the Jimmy Fallon platform for such an announcement.
Here’s some points on this for new audiences to boxing at the moment:
- Ryan Garcia appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on May 19, 2026.
- He used the high-profile mainstream TV spot to announce his next fight as Conor Benn on September 12 in Las Vegas.
- Many fans and analysts believe announcing a Devin Haney 2 rematch would have generated far more buzz.
- Haney-Garcia 1 was already a massive rivalry fight with huge mainstream interest.
- A rematch announcement on Jimmy Fallon would have reached millions of non-boxing fans instantly — right across America where both are from too.
- Garcia instead chose a UK vs US welterweight clash that feels less prestigious to American audiences.
- The Fallon appearance was another chance for boxing to cross over into late-night comedy viewers. Strangely Garcia chose not to opt to use it.
- Announcing Haney 2 could have built massive hype and driven early PPV sales momentum.
- Choosing Benn over Haney 2 disappointed many who saw it as settling for a smaller domestic revenue opportunity.
Revenue comparison — Haney 2 vs Conor Benn:
- Haney vs Garcia 1 generated numbers.
- A Haney rematch would likely do similar or higher numbers due to the controversial first fight and built-in rivalry.
- Conor Benn’s biggest fight (vs Chris Eubank Jr) did solid pay per view buys but mostly in the UK market.
- Haney 2 would be a major US pay-per-view event, while Garcia-Benn is expected to be a DAZN/Netflix co-stream with more moderate US interest.
- Garcia-Haney 1 produced a $9+ million gate; a rematch in a big arena could match or exceed that.
- Garcia-Benn is projected as a solid but not record-breaking fight — likely 300k–500k combined buys at best.
- Overall revenue from Haney 2 (PPV + gate + sponsorships) would likely be 5 times bigger than Garcia-Benn.
- Haney 2 would command much higher international and US domestic numbers due to name value and history.
- Garcia-Benn benefits from personal beef but lacks the same star power and stakes as a Haney rematch.
- Many experts view Garcia-Benn as a good money fight — but Haney 2 as a potential career-high revenue event for Garcia.
A Devin Haney or Gervonta Davis rematch, or even a fight with Shakur Stevenson, any of those three actually for Ryan Garcia to announce all would have been far bigger buzz and fights for him to launch on the Jimmy Fallow show.
All opponents American as well.
