Devin Haney is a fighter that promoter Eddie Hearn views as no longer “chasing legacy” like he was earlier in his 10-year career. Hearn says Haney (32-0, 16 KOs) has become poisoned “by the money.” He believes that he’s just fighting for money at this point.
When asked if he’d be interested in re-signing Haney to Matchroom, Hearn said, “Probably not.” It’s understandable.
What Eddie feels has contributed to the former two-division world champion Haney losing his love for the game is his fight with Ryan Garcia last year. After he took a beating against Ryan, who tested positive for a PED after the fight, he was dumped on by fans for initiating a lawsuit for battery. There was little sympathy for Devin.
Hearn does believe that Haney will win his fight next month against WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. on November 22 at the ANB Arena in Riyadh. However, the oddsmakers don’t believe it, and there’s a very good chance that Norman Jr. will finish what Ryan started in his beatdown of Devin.
“Poisoned by the Money”
“No disrespect to Devin. He’s not chasing legacy in the same way that he was when he started his journey,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social. “That’s because he’s become poisoned by the sport, and he’s become poisoned by the money. It happens to everybody. It’s not a comment about Devin.”
The fights against Vasily Lomachenko, Ryan Garcia, and Jose Ramirez were all well-paying ones for Haney. He didn’t look good in any of them. At this point, if he chose to focus on legacy fights, his career would likely evaporate rapidly. Putting Haney in with the killers at 140, like Gary Antuanne Russell, or former unified welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, would likely be a nightmare for him.
The upside would be huge for Devin, legacy-wise, but his chances of success would be slim. He lacks the pop in his punches, and his chain has already been shown to be too brittle to deal with punchers. That’s why we saw so much movement from him in his last fight against Jose Ramirez on Turki Alalshikh’s May 2, 2025, card at Times Square in New York.
From Legacy Fighter to Prizefighter
“After what happened against Ryan Garcia, he would have lost a lot of love for the game,” said Hearn. “What happened to him against Ryan Garcia was harsh. The response was harsh. He probably thought to himself, ‘F*** trying to please people. Give me the money.'”
Anytime a fighter gets dominated the way Haney did by Ryan, they’re not going to receive praise. It had nothing to do with Haney. That’s the way fans are. If it had been anyone, the reaction would have been the same. Haney’s decision to initiate a lawsuit made him look weaker in the eyes of fans. So, it’s not surprising that it worked against him in terms of creating more criticism from fans.
Hearn Still Expects Him to Win
“So, the Brian Norman fight, he’s got a bit of both. He’s got a chance to become a three-division world champion. It’s a very good fight and a dangerous fight, but I expect Devin to win,” said Hearn.
I wouldn’t count on Haney coming out victorious against Norman Jr if I were Hearn. There’s a massive difference in power between them, and one is ascending in their career while the other is on a sharp decline.
“Probably not,” said Hearn when asked if he believes he can work with Haney again. “Devin has become a little bit poisoned by the sport.”