By Chris Williams: Gary Russell Jr says saw a “red flag” when he was going through the term sheet that was sent to him by Devin Haney’s team, and he’s not going to sign on it. According to Russell, Haney (24-0, 15 KOs) ad his father, Bill hasn’t spoken to DAZN or Matchroom Boxing for them to agree on the fight.
The Haney’s wanted Russell Jr to sign off on the contract terms BEFORE they spoke to DAZN, the network platform that will show the fight, and the promoters at Matchroom.
As a result, Russell Jr isn’t going to sign the offer sheet, which he says is a “blank check.” Russell is still interested in fighting Haney, but he wants him to speak to DAZN and Matchroom to make sure that they’re on board with the fight before he signs anything.
DAZN and Matchroom need to sign off on the clash
“I want to give everybody an update of what’s going on and what the status is,” said Russell on Instagram. “This is business. We received the term sheet, and we finally got a chance to get around to get it sent over to our attornies and everybody else.
“I want to say this to Bill Haney,” Russell continued. “Stop going around telling people that y’all your own boss and y’all running s*** because you’re not.
“So, I got off the phone with al [Haymon] and an attorney of mine. In the first line of the term-sheet states that this fight will only take place based upon only if DAZN and Matchroom pick it up.
“That’s a red flag because if you’re going to make a fight, DAZN and Matchroom should already have picked it up, and they should have already been included within the contract.
“Matchroom is pretty much Devin Haney’s promoter, and DAZN is pretty much the network that we would be competing on. So how the f*** are you going to send me a blank check? That’s basically what they did.
“They sent me a term sheet without the network or the promotion, which are DAZN and Matchroom, without them being included in it all,” Russell Jr said.
You would think that the FIRST thing that Bill Haney should have done would be to ensure that DAZN would agree to stream the Devin vs. Russell Jr. That should have been the first order of business after Bill spoke to Matchroom.
Presumably, Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn is OK with Haney facing Russell, but maybe he’s not. What’s noticeable is Hearn isn’t talking up the fight with the media, which is kind of a big hint that he’s not excited about it.
Gary won’t sign a blank check
“Ultimately, what Bill and they are trying to do,” said Russell Jr. “I’m not going to say that Bill isn’t trying to make the fight. I think they’re trying to make the fight, but Bill is trying to middle-man some s***.
“To try and get me, ‘We got everything. We agreed to all the terms, and everything is situated.
“This is what it is.’ Then he wanted me to sign it and then take it back and try and present it to DAZN and Matchroom, and then they would have the choice whether they would want to take the fight or not.
“They could very possibly be like, ‘Nah, that’s not a good fight.’ So y’all trying to get me to sign a blank check? What the f***.
“Hey, listen, stop this s***, man. I said I was going to come down to the number that you wanted. I came down to the number, and now you’re telling me, ‘Sign this, and I’m going to get back to you and let you know if Eddie and Matchroom really want to make this fight.’
“That’s pretty much what’s going on y’all. That’s some crazy s***. I don’t get it. Bill, y’all need to get your s*** together and come correct when you deal with me, man.
“Y’all got to come all the way correct when you deal with me. Y’all can’t come with this half a**** little bull s*** that you think you’re doing. That s*** is crazy.
“The f**** up part is, Devin is the one that is going to get the a** end of the stick if this s** comes to fruition. I’m trying to make the fight. What’s up? Tell your peoples.
“Let’s do this s*** the correct way. You got to do things accordingly when you do business with me,” said Russell Jr to Team Haney.
It’ll be intriguing to see if the Haney-Russell fight will get made once Bill Haney attempts to get DAZN and Matchroom to agree to the battle. That’ll be fun if they both balk at the idea of Haney fighting Russell, and then would leave Gary without the fight he’s been trying to get.
Russell Jr is moving up to 135, and he wants to get one more fight this year. If the Haney’s aren’t able to get the deal wrapped up soon, then Russell should move on and look to go in another direction.
Thus far, it’s not working out with Russell trying to get a fight against Haney. That might not be the Haney’s fault. If Matchroom and DAZN wanted this fight, indeed, they would have said something by now.
Haney vs. Russell can still get made
“You got to do business right,” said Gary Russell Jr. “And you can’t do any half, middle-man halfway s***. You got to do this all the way, right. So to the fans and the people, that’s what’s going on.
“They keep bull-s****. I’m still going to get me another fight in. I’m still about to get me another fight in. They’re playing games, and it will be at 135. I’m not playing. I just wanted to let the fans know what’s going on.
“I don’t know. You can tell me what’s up. We can probably still get this s*** hashed out, but they’re going to need to get their promoter and the network that we’re competing on board because, as of now, they’re not on board. That’s what it is,” said Russell Jr.
That’s odd that Bill Haney didn’t get Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn and DAZN to give the OK for the fight with Russell to take place. Why would Bill wait until after the contest is signed to speak with DAZN and Hearn? What if neither of those two companies wants any part of the fight?
What’s unusual is that Hearn isn’t speaking about the Haney vs. Russell fight, and that could be interpreted as a sign that he’s not enthusiastic about it.
Before, when Yuriorkis Gamboa was the potential next opponent for Haney, Hearn all over the fight, praising it and saying what a great match-up. But he’s not doing that with the Haney-Russell Jr fight for some strange reason.
You can’t blame Gary for not wanting to sign the term sheet when DAZN and Hearn haven’t agreed that they’ll stage the fight.
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