Devin Haney says his fight with Ryan Garcia will “catapult” his career, making him the “new face of boxing” on April 20th when he faces him on DAZN in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) will defend his WBC light welterweight title for the first time, and he says the match against Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) will show fans that he’s a “huge draw.”
In a storybook situation, a win for the 25-year-old Haney over Ryan will transform him into the new ‘Face of Boxing,’ turning him into a vast PPV star on the same level as Canelo Alvarez and fighters of the past, like Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.
Reality Check: Is Haney Piggybacking on Ryan’s Star Power?
Of course, Ryan will be the one who receives credit for the ratings and PPV success of the April 20th event, considering he’s the one with the proven track record on pay-per-view and can sell the fight to his 11 million Instagram followers.
With his 50K PPV buys for his last fight against Regis Prograis, you can argue that Haney will be hitching a ride, taking advantage of Ryan’s fan base and huge popularity for their April 20th event.
Haney will benefit disproportionally from the fans and PPV buys that Ryan attracts to the event. In the aftermath, Devin could be under the illusion that the event’s success was due to him rather than Ryan Garcia, the proven PPV draw.
Obviously, we won’t know whether Haney can be transformed into a draw until his next fight, and it could be a brutal dose of reality for the San Franciso native if he finds out that he’s still not a PPV draw and returns to bringing in 50K buys as before.
The Road to Mainstream Stardom
“It’s going to be the biggest fight in 2024. It’s going to be a mega-event,” said Devin Haney to DAZN Boxing about his match against Ryan Garcia on April 20th in Las Vegas.
“It’s going to catapult me. It’s going to prove that I am the new face of boxing, I am the man, and I’m a huge draw,” said Haney when asked what his fight with Ryan will do for his career. “Fireworks. It’s been a long time coming.”