Devin Haney Experiences The Fickle Business Of Boxing – So What Does He Do Next?

The fallout from one of the biggest fights of the year has continued this week and it’s not only Ryan Garcia who’s faced severe consequences; Devin Haney has too.

In the immediate aftermath of Garcia’s monumental victory over Haney in April, it was being hailed as an era-defining event – the sort of fight that transcended boxing and gave the sport a much-needed boost.

Now, though, it’s being remembered for all the wrong reasons. Garcia’s career-best victory, which was achieved after missing weight and therefore not for Haney’s WBC super-lightweight title, has been changed to a no contest and the Californian banned for one year after two failed drug tests.

While Garcia, who is also liable for various fines, faces an uncertain boxing future, Haney’s next move is also unclear.

This week’s purse bids for his proposed next fight against mandatory challenger Sandor Martin were hugely disappointing for the two-weight world champion. So disappointing, in fact, that there was only one bid, from Top Rank for a meagre $2.42 million.

Of that, Haney will receive around $1.6 million – a fraction of the guaranteed money he earned against Garcia and previous opponents Regis Prograis, Vasiliy Lomachenko, and George Kambosos Jr.

Haney v Martin ‘Not An Appealing Fight’

Granted, that doesn’t take into account his share of pay-per-view buys, but after the hysteria that surrounded his bout with Garcia, the appetite to pay and watch Haney fight Martin isn’t really there.

The lack of interest from promoters did not sit well with ‘The Dream’, who took to social media to share his frustration and disappointment. Even Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn, long-time allies of Haney even after they stopped officially working together, refused to get involved in the bidding.

“It’s not an appealing fight and wasn’t a fight DAZN were motivated by or one that had any value,” Hearn said. “Devin is a free agent and has his own promotional company.”

Haney responded by posting: “Wow Matchroom. Nasty work”, before later claiming he would “take some time, spend some of my money, travel the world & I’ll b[e] back in two years after Ryan suspension & we can fight again.”

The situation Haney in which finds himself highlights two cold, hard truths; that boxing is a fickle business that even the brightest stars will suffer severe ramifications in defeat (even if the result was ultimately overturned).

And secondly, Haney does not hold broad enough appeal to generate eight-figure fights without a world-class dance partner, the way Canelo Alvarez or Anthony Joshua can – or before them, Floyd Mayweather Jr or Manny Pacquiao.

‘The Dream’ Left With Few Options

There is no disputing Haney’s standing within the sport of boxing; an undefeated two-weight world champion and former undisputed lightweight king who has fought and beaten top-class opponents. Yet, he simply doesn’t have a global profile that extends beyond boxing to carry pay-per-view shows without someone like Garcia or Lomachenko in the opposite corner.

Martin, a dangerous and capable challenger who was unfortunate to lose to Lopez, would be an intriguing challenge for Haney, particularly in the aftermath of the Garcia fight. Plenty of boxing fans would pay up and tune in to see how the 25-year-old bounces back from getting knocked down three times by Garcia. But beyond that relatively small demographic, there simply isn’t enough wider interest to justify purse bids much more than what Top Rank put forward.

Where does this all leave Haney? It would seem highly unlikely that he will temporarily hang up his gloves to travel the world and wait for Garcia to return, so it presents two credible options: either he sucks it up and fights Martin and hopes to beat the Spaniard convincingly to set up his next blockbuster bout, either against Lopez or the Garcia rematch.

Or he takes a bold step up to welterweight to challenge the Mario Barrios, who this week was elevated by the WBC from interim to full champion. This option would give Haney the opportunity to become a three-weight world champion but comes with massive risk.

The Californian has admitted he had never absorbed power like he felt from Garcia, who came into the ring the heavier fighter, and he will be opening himself up to a similar prospect if he takes on Barrios.

Neither option is ideal for Haney, and for a fighter accustomed to calling all the shots, he finds himself in unfamiliar territory.