Roy Jones Jr. Pushes Ryan Garcia Toward Shakur Stevenson

Roy Jones Jr. went on record Wednesday saying Ryan Garcia should skip a Devin Haney rematch and go straight after Shakur Stevenson instead. Jones made the call public on March 25, 2026, adding serious weight to a potential lightweight showdown that boxing fans have been demanding for months. The Hall of Fame fighter’s endorsement puts Garcia-Stevenson firmly on the radar as one of the most commercially viable fights in the division.

Garcia beat Haney in their first meeting, but that result was overturned after Garcia tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine. Jones argues that chapter is closed. With the Garcia-Haney saga effectively nullified by the failed drug test, the path forward — according to Jones — runs directly through the Newark, New Jersey southpaw.

Why Roy Jones Jr. Is Done With Garcia vs. Haney

Roy Jones Jr.’s position is blunt: a second Garcia-Haney fight offers nothing new. Jones said the two have already fought, the result was wiped from the record books due to the Ostarine violation, and boxing should not reward a tainted chapter with a sequel. His logic is hard to argue against — rematches need unfinished business, and this one was finished in a lab report.

Jones framed his thinking around what makes commercial and competitive sense for Garcia right now. “Ryan Garcia should fight whoever he wants to fight next because you see what Ryan did, he is really smart,” Jones said. That reads like a compliment, but Jones followed it immediately with a redirect — skip Haney, target Stevenson. The implication is that Garcia has earned a bigger, cleaner stage.

Breaking down the advanced metrics of Garcia’s marketability, the numbers reveal a pattern: his fights draw massive streaming numbers, and a clean, undisputed matchup against an elite defensive technician like Stevenson would carry genuine pound-for-pound implications. Jones understands that calculus. He has lived it.

What Roy Jones Jr. Actually Said About Shakur Stevenson

Jones was direct when naming Stevenson as the target. “Go for the Shakur fight,” Jones said. “He said he wants Shakur Stevenson — everybody in boxing wants to see him so if he wants to fight Shakur then he gets that fight”. That last phrase matters. Jones is not just expressing a preference — he is signaling that Stevenson’s camp would accept, and that the fight is makeable.

Shakur Stevenson, the WBC and WBO lightweight titlist, has built a reputation as one of the slickest operators in the sport. His footwork, jab placement, and ring generalship draw comparisons to Jones himself in his prime — which makes Jones’s endorsement carry a layer of credibility beyond just promotional noise. When a fighter of Jones’s pedigree says a matchup is worth making, promoters listen.

Garcia’s stated desire to fight Stevenson aligns with what Jones is pushing publicly. That rare convergence — fighter wants it, legendary voice backs it, opponent is apparently open — is exactly the kind of alignment that turns a rumored fight into a signed contract. Based on available data from Jones’s comments, both sides appear to be pointing the same direction.

Key Developments in the Garcia-Stevenson Push

• Jones specifically cited Garcia’s stated desire to fight Stevenson as the basis for his endorsement, confirming Garcia had already named Stevenson as a target before Jones weighed in.
• Garcia’s win over Haney was officially overturned following a positive test for Ostarine, a selective androgen receptor modulator banned under anti-doping rules.
• Jones did not rule out a personal return to the ring, saying he would consider coming back if Netflix approached him with a financially compelling offer.
• Jones framed Garcia as “really smart” for his ring performances, a notable endorsement from a fighter widely regarded as one of the most technically gifted boxers in history.
• The phrase “everybody in boxing wants to see” Stevenson fight, used by Jones, reflects the broader consensus that Stevenson has been underexposed on major platforms despite his elite skill level.

Does This Fight Actually Happen — and When?

Whether Garcia and Stevenson land in the same ring depends on promotional alignment, platform money, and timing. The numbers suggest the appetite is real on both sides. Garcia’s drawing power on streaming platforms — his fights have pulled massive audiences on DAZN and social media — pairs well with Stevenson’s critical reputation. That combination is exactly what Netflix, Amazon, or a major pay-per-view platform would pay top dollar for.

Shakur Stevenson‘s promotional home with Top Rank and his relationship with ESPN creates one structural hurdle. Garcia operates in a different promotional ecosystem. Cross-promotional fights at lightweight are not impossible — the division has produced them before — but they require both sides to agree the payday justifies the negotiating headache. Jones’s public push adds external pressure that could accelerate those talks.

One counterargument worth considering: Garcia has a history of fights falling apart at the negotiating stage, and Stevenson’s team may prefer a more straightforward mandatory defense before stepping into a high-risk, high-reward matchup against an opponent with Garcia’s punching power and unpredictability. The numbers say the fight is worth making. Whether the business side catches up to the hype is another matter entirely.

Roy Jones Jr.’s intervention gives this potential matchup a credibility boost that press conference trash talk never could. He is not a promoter with a financial stake. He is a Hall of Famer calling it straight — and in boxing, that carries weight that money sometimes cannot buy.