Garcia recently told followers that he had been offered between $20 million and $25 million to fight Jake Paul. According to Garcia, he rejected the proposal on principle. He said he did not want to derail his title ambitions and believed a world championship mattered more than a lucrative crossover event.
“My speed would take over. I’d be able to get him,” Garcia said on social media when discussing Paul. “They offered me $20 million or $25, and I said no. I want this world title. In my heart, I wanted to fight for a world title. It would have sidetracked me crazy.”
That explanation did not survive contact with Haney.
“This dude just b lying with a straight face,” Haney wrote on X. “Noooo, Oscar said you couldn’t.”
Haney’s response suggests the decision was never Garcia’s to make. In his view, De La Hoya blocked the fight, likely to protect contractual obligations or long term plans, while Garcia later repackaged the outcome as a personal choice rooted in competitive purity.
The back and forth is not happening in a vacuum. Haney and Garcia remain tied together after their controversial April 2024 fight, which Garcia won by majority decision. Haney has disputed the result ever since and has continued to push for a rematch, while Garcia has largely moved on publicly.
Garcia is now scheduled to fight for the WBC welterweight title against Mario Barrios on February 21, 2026. That bout gives credibility to Garcia’s claim that he is focused on championships. At the same time, Haney’s criticism highlights a recurring pattern in boxing, where fighters speak about independence while promoters quietly hold the leverage.
Whether the Jake Paul offer was truly rejected or simply unavailable no longer matters as much as the optics. Garcia presented himself as choosing legacy over money. Haney punctured that image in a single sentence, reminding fans how often big decisions are made behind closed doors rather than on social media timelines.
The rivalry, clearly, is still very much alive.
