Devin Haney will need to defend against his WBC light welterweight mandatory Sandor Martin next following his victory over Regis Prograis last Saturday night in San Francisco.
Prograis (29-2, 24 KOs) was given an exception by the World Boxing Council to allow him to defend his 140-lb belt against Haney (31-0, 15 KOs), but the WBC likely won’t allow Devin to circumvent Sandor as well.
If Haney wants to hold onto his newly won WBC belt, he’ll need to defend against his mandatory Sandor (41-3, 14 KOs) next, or the title will be stripped from him if he doesn’t vacate it first.
Sandor Martin won’t be easy out
The light-hitting, Mayweather-esque Haney might feel he’s above world titles and gladly vacate the WBC belt to avoid fighting Sandor in a clash that won’t make him a lot of money, and it wouldn’t be PPV-worthy.
It would be hard work for Haney to defeat the crafty southpaw, Sandor, as he’s not old & past it like his last two opponents.
Haney’s massive welterweight / junior middleweight size would likely be too big for Sandor, but it wouldn’t be an easy or well-paying match like his fight against Prograis.
Haney said after his lopsided twelve round unanimous decision victory over Prograis last Saturday night that he wants to face the “big names,” such as Ryan Garcia, Gervonta Davis, or Teofimo Lopez. Haney can fight anyone he likes, but not as the WBC 140-lb champion.
If Haney wants the “big names,” he’ll have to relinquish his WBC light welterweight belt unless the sanctioning body allows him to circumvent his inherited responsibility of defending against Sandor Martin.
The WBC would look like a joke organization if they allowed Haney to bypass Sandor to further enrich himself with a money fight against Ryan, Teofimo, or Gervonta.
The Spanish boxer Sandor gave Teofimo Lopez massive problems last year in December, dropping him twice in a controversial ten round split decision loss at Madison Square Garden in New York. After the fight, Teofimo was second-guessing himself, saying, “Do I still got it?”
Haney’s only chance of bypassing his mandatory obligation to Sandor Martin would be if the WBC allowed him to swerve the Spaniard by taking a unification match against WBO belt-holder or WBA champ Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero.
Trying to negotiate a fight with Teofimo would be a massive undertaking for Haney and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, who has already discussed the unrealistic money Teo wants for his fights. If Teofimo insists on a huge guaranteed purse for a unification fight with Haney, that bout won’t happen.
Haney’s hopes for a fight with Gervonta Davis is hopeless because after his performance against the washed-looking 34-year-old Prograis, the tiny 5’5″ Baltimore native Tank and his promoters at Mayweather Promotions won’t want anything to do with him.
Tank has a good thing going with PBC & Mayweather Promotions, with how they match him and give him good money for easy fights.
He got a massive payday in his last fight against Ryan Garcia, beating the badly flawed social media fighter by a seventh round knockout last April. Tank isn’t going to want to mess with that formula for easy dough by taking on what is essentially a welterweight in Haney.
