By Matt Lieberman: Devin Haney aims to become the first billionaire boxer before he finishes up his career. Fresh off his lopsided 12-round unanimous decision victory over Yuriorkis Gamboa last weekend, Haney (25-0, 15 KOs) wants to put his WBC lightweight title on the line against Teofimo Lopez, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, and Ryan Garcia.
Beating those fighters two or three times will make Haney a massive amount of money in his early 20s, and he can build on that as he nears 30.
Haney’s only chance of becoming the first billionaire in the sport of boxing is for him to start early and defeat Tank, Ryan, and Teofimo. If Haney runs the table and beats those guys right away, his popularity will shoot through the roof, and every fight from that point on will make him huge money on pay-per-view.
Mayweather had the chance of becoming a billionaire boxer
Floyd Mayweather Jr would have become the first billionaire boxer if he hadn’t ended his career early. For all intents and purposes, Mayweather ended his boxing career in 2015 after his win over Andre Berto. Mayweather came back for fights against Conor McGregor and Tenshin Nasukawa.
As long as Haney doesn’t lose his ambition the way that Mayweather did or become risk-averse like him, he can become a billionaire in the sport. Of course, Haney will have to beat all the top guys at 135 and potentially 140, but it’s possible.
The people that have made massive money in their lives like J Paul Getty, Aristotle Onassis, Bill Gates, and Paul Allen didn’t lose their ambition once they first became wealthy. They continued to work hard. Haney needs to follow their example and not give up early the way Mayweather did after he hit it rich.
Haney targeting Tank, Teofimo, and Ryan Garcia
“Tank Davis, Teofimo Lopez, and Ryan Garcia are all great potential opponents for me,” Haney said to Yahoo Sports News.
“I’d rather fight sooner than later, but they have to feel the same way about me. I have a goal to be the first billionaire boxer, and to do that; I have to put forth billion-dollar performances.”
Haney’s good news is he won’t have to wait to get the big fights that he needs to become the first billionaire boxer. The big three at 135 – Teofimo Lopez, Gervonta Davis, and Ryan Garcia – all want to fight him as soon as possible.
It won’t a situation where Haney has to wait six years to fight those top lightweights the way that boxing fans did with the Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao mega-fight.
While Haney could still become massively wealthy by letting those fights marinate for six years the way Mayweather did with Pacquiao, but it would limit how much money he makes in the long run.
It’s better for Haney to face Ryan, Tank, and Teofimo right now, beat them, and then become hugely popular right away. If Haney defeats those three talented fighters in the next year, every fight after that will bring in a lot of revenue.
Devin’s chances of getting a fight against WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (24-0, 23 KOs) in 2021 are quite good.
Tank, 25, will likely face Ryan Garcia (20-0, 17 KO) in the first quarter of next year if the Golden Boy start gets by Luke Campbell on December 5th.
Tank’s next logical fight is against Haney, and Mayweather Promotions aren’t going to want to delay that fight. They know that Tank must keep the momentum going if he wants to become a true pay-per-view star. 
Devin dominated Gamboa
“It was a dominant performance. I won every single round,” Haney said to Fighthype in assessing his performance against Gamboa.
“Early when he knew he couldn’t win, when he couldn’t stand in and box with me, he went into survival mode. I look untouched. I don’t feel like I’ve been in a fight at all.
“So I’m happy with the performance. I told him, ‘Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you, a champion for the opportunity,’ because I remember looking up to the guy when I was young and being starstruck meeting him, waiting for him to come to the gym. He didn’t say anything.
“I showed that the name of the game is to hit and not get hit,” Haney said about not taking damage against Gamboa. “I showed from round one to round twelve; I’m here. I’m dangerous from round one to round twelve,” Haney said.
It was a good win for Haney to dismantle a fighter known for being dangerous on offense, but it wasn’t a big enough victory to increase his popularity.
From this point on, Haney needs to stay away from older fighters, especially guys coming off of defeats like Gamboa.
Those types of opponents will do nothing for Haney’s popularity. Devin doesn’t need to be put in a no-win situation where he doesn’t receive credit for his wins.
Once the lightweight division is tapped out for Haney’s money opportunities, he can move up to 140 and see what’s up there.
If Haney can’t get Ryan, Tank, or Teofimo in his next fight, he needs to face one of these guys:
- Jorge Linares
- Javier Fortuna
- Felix Verdejo
- Richard Commey
- George Kambosos, Jr.
- Rolando Romero
- Denys Berinchyk
McGirt picks Teofimo Lopez to beat Haney
“I go with Teofimo,” said trainer Buddy McGirt to ESNEWS when asked who wins between Haney and Teofimo. “I’m not knocking Devin. I think he’s a good fighter, but I don’t think he’s been in with someone with that type of quality.
“You’ve got to be prepared for that. You can’t just jump out there, and it’s not going to happen. You’ve got to build up to fight someone like that. I believe, but I could be wrong. Right now, I think Teofimo has too many guns for him right now.
“It doesn’t make a difference,” McGirt said when asked if he wants to see Teofimo move up to 140. “Right now, he’s at 135. That’s a hot division. I would love to see Teofimo and Tank.
“Hopefully, they [Top Rank and Mayweather Promotions] could [work out a deal] because that’s a fight that boxing needs right now.
“I think right now [is a good time for Tank vs. Teofimo]. They’re both coming off good wins, and now is the time to do it. It’ll be a good fight,” said McGirt.
McGirt is making a safe pick by going with the fighter with more experience in Teofimo Lopez, but that doesn’t mean that it’ll play out that way. Experience doesn’t matter in this case because Haney has done lots of sparring with great fighters in the past.
Haney needs one good win under his belt against a top fighter like Tank or Ryan Garcia for people like McGirt to believe in him.
Given that Haney is so young, his promoters at Matchroom Boxing still haven’t put him in with a talented enough opponent to show what he can do.
That’s why if Haney can’t get one of the big three to fight him in early 2021, he needs someone like Linares, Kambosos Jr., or Verdejo to show what he’s capable of doing. Linares, 35, is up there in age too like Gamboa, but he’s still in the prime of his career.