Ryan Garcia could move above Devin Haney in The Ring’s welterweight rankings without facing him, provided he delivers a decisive victory over Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz within three rounds. A dominant stoppage would leave the ranking panel little room to keep an inactive Haney ahead of a fighter capable of finishing someone Gervonta Davis could not stop.
The Ring currently ranks Haney first, Garcia second and Teofimo Lopez third. DAZN highlighted Garcia’s rise after his September 12 win over Conor Benn, declaring: “Ryan Garcia is one step closer to being the No. 1 ranked welterweight!”
Haney has not fought since defeating Brian Norman Jr. in November 2025, and no return date has been announced. That inactivity puts The Ring’s editorial panel in a difficult position: how can it justify keeping an idle fighter above an active WBC titleholder who produces frequent finishes, fills arenas and generates an $8 million live gate?
Cruz offers Garcia an attractive path. Brian Norman Jr. and Eimantas Stanionis are dangerous, power-punching natural welterweights, but fights against them would carry substantial risk for limited commercial reward. Cruz, meanwhile, represents a lucrative opportunity with major international exposure and the chance to strengthen Garcia’s comparison with Tank.
The central concern is weight. Cruz competes at 140 pounds and spent most of his career at lightweight. Moving him to 147 pounds—or arranging a 144-pound catchweight—could lead critics to argue that Garcia selected a smaller opponent rather than testing himself against a legitimate welterweight puncher.
A spectacular finish would neutralize that criticism. A points victory would appear to be another routine commercial bout and leave Haney securely at the top. A third-round stoppage, however, would force The Ring to reconsider its rankings.
The stylistic matchup favors Garcia. Cruz advances from a low crouch and throws wide hooks at close range, walking into the checking left hook that helped him overwhelm Benn and repeatedly drop Haney.
The physical differences make that approach especially hazardous. At 5’4″ with a 63-inch reach, Cruz is more than four inches shorter and seven inches shorter in reach than Garcia. He must cross open space to reach the champion’s ribs, while dipping his head and lowering his right glove exposes him to Garcia’s hand speed and direct shots to the jaw.
That dynamic also creates a compelling comparison with Davis. Tank spent 36 minutes against Cruz in December 2021 without recording a knockdown. Garcia finished Benn in six minutes, and stopping Cruz within nine would diminish Davis’s aura of unmatched one-punch power while giving Garcia a strong claim to bragging rights over both fighters.
Cruz built his reputation on exceptional durability. He absorbed Davis’s best work, withstood Rolando Romero’s power and eventually broke him down. If Garcia shatters that reputation quickly, he would earn more than a routine victory: he would remove much of the remaining justification for keeping Haney protected at number one.