Haney Furious As Hearn Abandons His Purse Bid – ‘Matchroom, Nasty Work’
Eddie Hearn looks to have turned his back on Devin Haney after refusing to make a purse bid for his fight with Sandor Martin.
Haney is coming off his first career loss after losing to Ryan Garcia via a majority decision. The Dream suffered a big setback for his brand, as his defensive frailties were exposed. Haney was repeatedly hit with the same left hook and dropped three times. However, since Garcia missed weight, he could not fight for Haney’s WBC 140-pound title.
Haney’s Next Fight
Haney remained the champion, while Garcia’s two failed VADA tests for Ostarine could see the result overturned. Haney was then ordered to defend against his IBF mandatory Martin. It is not the biggest fight since Martin is not a huge name. Martin’s notable fight was a loss to Teofimo Lopez. Haney and Martin’s styles are not the most entertaining since both are seen as pure boxers.
Regarding the purse bids, only Top Rank submitted a bid. They won the purse bids with a $2.42 million bid. Under the WBC rules, Haney will earn over $1.5 million for the fight with a 70-30 split. Meanwhile, Martin would get over $600,000. Haney has earned at least $15 million from his last two fights, making this a significant pay cut, leaving Haney disappointed.
Haney Reacts
“Wow Matchroom … nasty work. I should’ve bid myself,” Devin Haney
“It’s an attractive fight. That’s why we put the bid in. You don’t bid unless you believe you’ll be putting the fight on. It’s not like Haney’s got a lot of titles if he chooses to walk away from this one,” Bob Arum said
“Per TR, the plan is to put on a fight in early fall. I asked Top Rank’s boxing CarlMoretti about there being 1 bidder on Devin Haney -Martin. I understand why Matchroom didn’t bid because Eddie [Hearn] told me he didn’t like the fight. [And] I don’t understand why Devin Haney Promotions didn’t bid since they’re quote, unquote, a promoter as well,” Dan Rafael
Haney’s Future
Haney must now decide what to do next. He could vacate the belt and pursue a title shot with the IBF. The current IBF Junior Welterweight Champion is Liam Paro after his upset win over Subriel Matias. Paro is with Matchroom Boxing, making this an easy fight to make. If Haney does vacate, Martin will likely face the interim champion Alberto Puello. That would be for the vacant belt, or Puello would become a full champion. The other option is for Haney to petition for a more favorable purse. Under the WBC rules, Haney can seek a more favorable split.
“[T]he WBC Board of Governors, may by a majority vote, authorize a modification of the division of purse offer proceeds between boxers in a purse offer in particular cases, such as consideration of outstanding marketing value of one of the boxers, as the WBC shall determine in its sole discretion,” WBC rule 2.16
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