Devin Haney revealed today in an interview that there are no negotiations with Gervonta Davis, and they haven’t reached out to him for talks. Haney has now moved on and has begun negotiations with Ryan Garcia, Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya, and Ryan’s lawyer. He’s hoping that will be next for him.
(Photo credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom or Melina Pizano/Matchroom)
Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) still remains confident that a fight between him and Gervonta Davis will happen, and he says it’s the “biggest fight in boxing.”
Tank’s silence speaks volumes
Devin sounds extremely naive, thinking that the Tank Davis fight is still attainable. Tank’s silence means he has no interest. It’s wretched how Haney continues to hold out hope, as he should have gotten the hint by now. Is Devin obtuse?
With Devin rehydrating to 165 lbs for his last fight against WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis on December 9th, his days at 140 are numbered, to say the least, and once he’s at 147, it would seem futile for him to continue on with his hopeless dream of fighting Tank Davis.
Why would he want to fight a welterweight, particularly one that is rehydrating to the mid-160s? That would be like asking Tank to fight IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, and he’s not about to do that.
Tank isn’t going to fight someone who outweighs him by 25 to 30 lbs, and he shouldn’t be expected to. Devin needs to give up on his career as a weight bully and focus on fighting opposition his own size at 147, 154 or 160.
Ryan Garcia: more attainable target
“There’s no real negotiations [Gervonta Davis]. That’s a fight I’d love, but his team hasn’t reached out to us. They said they’d be the ones to send an offer, but nobody’s reached out. We’re on to Ryan Garcia now,” said Devin Haney to Ariel Helwani’s YouTube channel.
“We’re in negotiations with Oscar and Ryan, Ryan’s lawyer, and Ryan’s team, so it could very much be what’s next. We’re still in the beginning stages of negotiations. Matchroom is part of the team.”
Ryan Garcia is the ideal opponent for Haney, considering he’s got a massive social media following of over 10 million Instagram followers who will purchase the fight on PPV.
Haney doesn’t really need to do much to promote the fight because he would be getting a free ride, with Ryan bringing virtually all the PPV buys. If Devin performs well and entertains, his fan base could grow, and moving forward, he would be a draw, which he isn’t now, unfortunately.
His 50K PPV buys for the Prograis fight showed that Haney needs to hitch a ride on the coattails of popular opponents like Ryan. That could change for Devin if he shines against Ryan and stays in the pocket instead of using the defensive style we saw from him against Prograis.
“I never wanted to leave Matchoom. I didn’t want to leave, but I had to do what I had to do to become undisputed. We still want to make ourselves available to make the biggest fights happen,” said Haney when asked why he only signed a one-fight deal with Matchroom.
“I still want to go from network to network if I have to for me to make the biggest fights happen, and that’s what I’m doing. Two years ago, they said I wasn’t a draw, and now I’m the King and the guy they’re calling for,” said Haney.
Devin is clearly NOT the King of any kind because if he were, he & his dad, Bill, wouldn’t be hounding & begging Tank Davis for a fight night and day. The King doesn’t beg. Moreover, the King brings in more PPV buys than 50K.
Haney is more of a pretender to the throne than any kind of a king, and he shouldn’t try to pass himself off as being more than one of the royal subjects because it looks bad.
The Kings:
- 135: Gervonta Davis
- 140: Ryan Garcia
- 147: Terence Crawford
- 154: Jermell Charlo
- 160: Jermall Charlo
- 168: Canelo Alvarez
- 175: Artur Beterbiev
- 200: Jai Opetaia
Turning dreams into reality
“It’s crazy how the tables have turned. I dreamed I would be in this position,” said Haney. “I knew I would be in this position one day, and what a blessing. I definitely get the respect I deserve.
“I knew this time would come. I knew it was a matter of time before I turned the non-believers into believers. The naysayers walk with a different tune, and now it’s that time.”
This writer hates to drizzle on Haney’s parade, but he’s still unproven because he hasn’t beaten anyone during his career. He didn’t fight Shakur Stevenson or Gervonta when he was at 135 and picked up his undisputed championship by defeating George Kambosos Jr., a mediocre fighter who stumbled onto his three titles by defeating a drained, injured and mentally void Teofimo Lopez.
Devin cherry-picked his title at 140 by fighting 35-year-old Regis Prograis and bypassing the far more dangerous IBF champion Subriel Matias. Haney is more a clever opportunist than someone who really achieved anything real. It’s superficial accomplishments, done by selecting the beatable opposition while swerving the risky guys that could expose him.
“It’s a huge fight,” said Haney when asked if it were up to him if Ryan Garcia would be the fight he wanted. “The Gervonta Davis fight is the biggest fight in boxing today, and Ryan Garcia isn’t too far behind. So one of those fights for sure.
“My thing is now, I’ve accomplished everything in the lightweight division. I became undisputed [by beating George Kambosos Jr.], I got all the belts, and I did that. Now, it’s about making the biggest fights happen for the most money. That’s where I’m at with it.
Will Tank agree to fight Haney in the future?
“There’s no real negotiations. That’s a fight that I would love, but nothing has taken off,” said Haney when asked about the Tank Davis fight. “His team hasn’t reached out to us or anything like that.
“They said they would need to send us an offer, and they would be the ones that would be reaching out and doing that. Nobody has done that. Now, we’re onto Ryan Garcia now,” said Devin.
Haney & his dad, Bill, wanted the Tank fight so bad that they naturally thought he would agree to fight him, just as past fighters like Vasily Lomachenko, Jorge Linares, and Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz had. Devin & Bill were spoiled rotten from getting their way with old veterans the Aussie, Kambosos.
They naturally thought that Tank Davis would cave in as well, and be fine with agreeing to fight without a catchweight, rehydration clause, and giving away 25 to 30 lbs in with against a 165+ lb Haney.
Bill & Devin were so simple, completely misjudging Tank, forgetting they were dealing with the King. When you deal with the King, you must refer to him as “Your Majesty” or “Your Royal Highness.” Devin and Bill didn’t know their place, and now it’s too late.
“Man, I’ve been calling for these guys for a long time now. It’s only a matter of time before I share the ring with all of them,” said Haney when asked if he thinks the Gervonta fight will take place.
“That’s the #1 guy on his [Tank] resume, Ryan Garcia, and once I beat him, my resume is only going to get bigger and bigger, and like I said, it’s [Tank Davis] is one of the biggest fights in boxing and it’s a huge fight. We’re not in no negotiations,” said Haney.
