By Dan Ambrose: Devin Haney was reportedly arrested on Thursday night in Hollywood in Los Angeles after the police pulled over his vehicle, and a semi-automatic was found in his.
According to TMZ, the 24-year-old Haney was released this morning at 8:12 A.M after posting a $35,000 bail. They state that Haney was pulled over due to an unsafe lane change by failing to use a turn signal.
Haney had been posting back & forth with Teofimo Lopez on social media late Wednesday night, with the two agreeing to fight each other next.
It’s unclear if Haney was in a celebratory mood after the Twitter exchange with Teofimo, as that match will surely give him a massive mega-million payday, likely far more money than he’s received in any of his other 30 contests during his career.
Interestingly, Haney wasn’t the one driving the vehicle, but it was his car. The unnamed driver of the car told the police about the gun being inside the vehicle. TMZ reports that neither the driver nor Haney admitted that the gun belonged to them.
Why neither didn’t is the big question. With the serial number on the gun, it’ll be easy for the police to discover who the firearm belongs to.
Haney is coming off the biggest win of his eight-year professional career, beating former three-division world champion Vasily Lomachenko by a highly contested twelve round unanimous decision last May in Las Vegas.
Many in the boxing world saw it as a gift division given to the A-side Haney by the three judges that worked the fight at the MGM Grand.
“According to authorities, Haney was not driving … but the person who was told officers during the stop there was a firearm inside of the ride,” said TMZ Sports about Devin Haney’s arrest.
“Cops say they then got Haney and his security out of the car … and when they searched the vehicle, they say they found a semi-automatic handgun under the driver’s seat.
“Law enforcement tells us … no one took ownership of the gun — and since the car was registered to Haney, he was arrested and booked for felony possession of a concealed weapon.”
There’s no word on why Haney would be driving around with a weapon under the car’s driver’s seat.
It’s unclear how the felony arrest of Haney will impact a potential mega-fight with WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez. It would be a huge disappointment if this gets in the way of Haney fighting Teofimo.