Ryan Garcia has alerted his team to start discussions with Devin Haney for a fight. Devin has confirmed on social media, saying, “These are facts.”
It’s unclear whether true boxing fans, besides Ryan’s 11 million Instagram followers, will be interested in purchasing a fight between him and Haney on DAZN PPV.
Ryan is doing Haney a massive favor by agreeing to fight him next because the hulking 165-lb Bay Area native had few options for a big payday fight that he & his dad, Bill, have been trying to get.
It remains to be seen if this fight can get put together without the Saudi’s help, because if Ryan & Haney insist on huge guaranteed purses of many millions, the promoters & DAZN could balk, not wanting to take the gamble of losing money.
Will Ryan vs. Haney be a financial success?
Selling a fight between Ryan & Haney will be viewed as another money grab like Ryan’s fight with Gervonta Davis, which was not remotely competitive. It looked like one of Floyd Mayweather Jr’s exhibition matches against a hapless YouTuber.
Some fans would say it’s too soon for Ryan Garcia to jump back in with a world champion-level fighter after his performance against Oscar Duarte on December 2nd, which was every bit as bad as his poor effort against Gervonta Davis. There was no improvement in Ryan’s game.
During the Garcia-Duarte fight, Ryan turned his back each time Duarte attacked him, and he openly cowered. Although Ryan said afterward that he was using the Philly shell, it looked more like him turning his back in the same way he’d done throughout his career when pressured. He doesn’t want to get hit in the face, so he turns his back to his opponents,
These are facts.. https://t.co/FFH8ObQiG2
— Devin Haney (@Realdevinhaney) December 20, 2023
The fan reaction to this news is mixed, as Ryan has looked awful in his last two fights against Oscar Duarte & Gervonta Davis. Ryan, 25, isn’t ready in his development to take on Haney for his WBC light welterweight title.
Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) is obviously overjoyed at Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) choosing to fight him, considering he struck out with his campaign to lure 135-pounder Gervonta Davis to face him without a catchweight or rehydration clause at 140.
If not for Ryan coming through, Haney likely would have needed to move up to 147, as he wasn’t going to risk his neck fighting IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias, and it would have been impossible to negotiate a fight between Devin and WBO 140-lb champion Teofimo Lopez, especially after his 50K PPV numbers for the Regis Prograis fight were leaked.
What further made Haney’s situation at 140 look bleak was his rehydrated weight of 165 lbs being revealed for the Prograis fight. With that kind of size, it was clear that Devin is a weight bully and should be fighting at 147.
