By Sean Jones: Devin Haney believes that Ryan Garcia never had any real intention of fighting him when he battled for the WBC mandatory spot earlier this year against Luke Campbell in January.
WBC lightweight champion Haney (25-0, 15 KOs) feels the sole reason Ryan (21-0, 18 KOs) was calling him out was for a “promotional” purpose to increase his popularity but without any serious intentions in facing him.
After beating Campbell, Ryan decided against using his WBC mandatory position to challenge Haney. Instead, Ryan went after higher-profile fights against Manny Pacquiao and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis but failed to acquire either.
The reality is, Ryan could have gotten the Tank fight, but he abandoned it when he thought he had the chance to cash in with a massive money title fight against former WBA welterweight champion Pacquiao.
With those fights no longer possible, interim WBC lightweight champion Ryan is starting over again, fighting Javier Fortuna (36-2-1, 25 KOs) on July 9th on DAZN.
The winner of the Garcia v. Fortuna fight will be in line to fight the winner of Haney’s May 29th title defense against Jorge Linares.
Haney and the former three-division world champion Linares (47-5, 29 KOs) will be fighting in the headliner on DAZN at the Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Haney claims Ryan Garcia ducked him
“Me and my team knew that Ryan Garcia didn’t really want to fight me,” Haney said to the DAZN Boxing Show. “He didn’t really want to fight ‘Tank’ [Gervonta Davis]. He didn’t really want to fight Pacquiao. It was all for promotion.
“He’s [Ryan Garcia] ducking me. Why fight for another mandatory when you can be fighting for a world title?” said Haney.
I don’t know that you can say that Ryan ducked the lower-paying fight against Haney, given that he was attempting to get a much bigger one against Pacquiao.
Haney is trying to make sense of why Ryan didn’t want to fight him, and he seems to be going in the wrong direction.
It’s got to be hard for Haney to understand that Ryan was attempting to get a bigger money fight that would have earned him millions against Pacquiao.
Now that Ryan understands that he’s not going to get the match against the 42-year-old Pacquiao, he’s once again going the Haney route.
If Ryan destroys Fortuna, he may find himself getting a bigger offer from undisputed champion Teofimo Lopez or Tank.
There’s still a lot of interest from fans in a fight between Ryan and Gervonta (24-0, 23 KOs). If Tank resurfaces, that would be a huge fight for Ryan in a stadium.
Haney is a finesse fighter with a boring fighting style, and he needs guys like Ryan to help his popularity. Devin’s recent fight against Yuriorkis Gamboa was disappointing, as it was boring to watch. Haney is too focused on trying not to get hit, and he has no power on his shots.
Devin rates Linares above Fortuna
“We can go by just whose accomplished more,” Haney said about his next opponent Jorge Linares and Ryan Garcia’s next opponent Javier Fortuna.
“Javier Fortuna hasn’t accomplished more. He’s [Jorge] Linares is a four [editor’s note: three] time world champion, and Javier Fortuna is a one-time or whatever the case may be.
“Jorge Linares has been in bigger fights and won bigger fights. I think Jorge Linares is the better fighter.”
“I’m very happy to have someone with a name [Linares] and someone with a name. Some fans feel that he could win the fight.
“It feels good to go in there with a little bit of butterflies and a chip on my shoulder with something to prove and something to show the world,” Haney said about his match against Linares on May 29th.
Linares, 35, obviously has done more in his career than former WBA super featherweight champion Fortuna.
With that said, Linares’ chin has let him down five times in his career, and he’s failed to become a star due to his knockout losses in his biggest fights.
Fortuna fell apart in his fights against Jason Sosa, Adrien Granados, and Robert Easter Jr. But he’s still an excellent fighter, and he might get lucky and stop Ryan if he can stay in there long enough to land something big.
Haney not worried if he’s avoided
“No, because the boxing fans will know that I’m one of the best in the world, and they’ll value it,” said Haney when asked if he’s worried about being avoided in the same way Demetrius Andrade and Terence Crawford are avoided.
“If other fighters don’t want to fight me, then the fans will know.
“That’s what he’s supposed to say?” said Haney when told that Linares is saying that he’s not ready for him.
“No fighter is going to say, ‘He’s 100% ready for me, I don’t think I’m going to win the fight. I think it’s a 50-50 fight.’
“Of course, you’re supposed to say that I’m not ready. No one knows if you’re ready until the time comes, and when that time comes, I’ll show the world,” said Haney.
Devin should worry about being avoided because it’s already happening, which is why he didn’t get a fight with Vasily Lomachenko. It’s not good for Haney to be ignored because the boxing fans just don’t see him fighting the best.
Yeah, some hardcore fans will know that Haney is being avoided, but the casuals won’t. Those are the ones that Haney needs to start following him for him to become a star.