By Adam Baskin: Regis Prograis says he heard that Devin Haney paid to have a loss removed from his record earlier in his career when he was fighting in Mexico.
Fans on social media don’t want to believe that their lionheart, Haney, paid to erase a loss, but that could be an example of people putting their heads in the sand to ignore the unpleasant truth.
If Devin did pay to eliminate a defeat from his record, fans need to put aside their hero worship of him and accept the ugly truth with both eyes open.
WBC light welterweight champion (29-1, 24 KOs) Prograis doesn’t say the name of the fighter that Haney lost to but feels that it’s weak on Devin’s part to stoop to the level of paying to have a loss removed.
Haney won all ten of his fights while competing in Mexico during the first two years of his career, from 2015 to 2016. It would be disappointing if it’s true that Haney paid to remove a loss on his record because that would basically mean that he should have two defeats on his eight-year resume.
Having an unbeaten record in this era is important because it likely means more money, and it helps a fighter’s career. Once they get a loss, they’re looked at differently by fans. Canelo Alvarez is an exception, but he’s someone with a massive following.
Prograis will defend his WBC belt against Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) two months from now, on December 9th, on DAZN PPV at the Chase Center in San Francisco. Would that fight be on PPV if Haney had one or two losses on his record, and was coming off a defeat against Vasily Lomachenko? Probably not.
Despite being the champion, Prograis, 34, is the underdog against Haney, who has never fought at 140. Haney is coming off a controversial decision win over Lomachenko in May.
So I’m hearing Devin lost a fight in Mexico earlier in his career but he paid to take it off his record. IF that’s true that’s the weakest shit I ever heard so far in boxing. Press conference is Tuesday and y’all reporters better not let this shit slide
— Rougarou (@RPrograis) October 15, 2023
It’s going to be interesting to see if Prograis brings up this unpleasant information about Haney at their press conference on Tuesday.
Prograis would be better off keeping this information secret because it would taint their December 9th fight, and possibly lead to fewer PPV buys on DAZN.
If anything, Prograis should be building up Haney so that more boxing fans will want to pay to see them battle. Also, if Prograis loses to Haney, it would look worse because he would have been beaten by a guy who should have two defeats on his resume.
“I will not only beat him, but I will beat him up. I will hurt this kid,” said Prograis about Haney. There’s nothing he can do that’s going to stop me from dominating. It’s going to be a massacre. Again, I will hurt him.”
