Promoter Eddie Hearn says his fighter Devin Haney is taking his loss to Ryan Garcia “very badly” and he’s unhappy that he tested positive and came in 3.2 lbs overweight.
Hearn wants Haney’s loss to be overturned if the investigation of his two failed PED tests for Ostarine revealed that it was in his system during the night of the fight on April 20th. He says Haney wants a “disqualification” for Ryan for that fight.
A fail is a fail. He still failed two drug tests and had performance-enhancing drugs in his system when he fought Devin Haney,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to Fight Hub TV.
Ryan’s B-sample will be tested on May 22nd, and if that’s clear, Haney (31-1, 15 KOs) will just have to acknowledge he was beaten by the better man. He had been complaining about Ryan coming in 3.2 lbs overweight at the weigh-in, but he accepted the $1.5 million for the weight bet.
That money should have been enough to satisfy Haney because he could have pulled out of the fight if he had an issue with him being a little heavy at the weigh-in.
Haney Wants Disqualification, Says Hearn
“I think he wants a disqualification. He’s not good, but he wasn’t good in the first place,” said Hearn about how well Haney is dealing with his loss. This is a kid who dedicates his life to the sport. When he got beat, it was a really tough pill to swallow.
“I don’t think he performed very well on the night. He was still a little bit baffled that he lost. Now in his head, ‘How much did the extra weight and how much did the performance-enhancing drugs that were found, how much did that affect what happened that night?’”
Haney isn’t going to gain anything by Ryan being disqualified and his loss erased from his record. The boxing public saw what happened that night, and that’s not going to go away by having Haney’s record returned to what it was before.
The fight showed that Haney’s punch resistance was weak, and he couldn’t punch. When Haney fights another fighter with power at 140, he’s going to have major issues.
Concerns Over Garcia’s Advantage
“In his head, it’s a little bit of a comfort that it wasn’t an even playing field, and let’s be honest. One thing is for sure, it wasn’t an even playing field. Even if you’re the biggest Ryan Garcia fight in the world, you have to acknowledge that,” said Hearn.
I don’t think Haney is kidding himself about what happened. He knows he was overmatched, and exposed by Ryan. He’s got to be worried about his future after that fight because all the killers at 140 will be licking their chops, waiting to get at him to finish what Ryan Garcia started. Haney can’t avoid them forever.
“With the failed tests, he took a lot of punishment that night,” said Hearn about Haney. “I think if you go through that kind of punishment and someone fails those tests.
Hearn: Haney Taking Loss “Personally”
“He’s taking it extremely personally to the point where I don’t even know if he would want to fight him [Ryan] again.”
Haney should want to fight Ryan again if money is his focus, and I think it is. He’s not going to make similar money fighting Isaac Cruz, Teofimo Lopez, or Subriel Matias. Those guys will likely beat Haney and finish off his career.
“He’s actually said to me, ‘I could have lost my life in there. That’s why it’s important to go through this process. If a fighter has gone through this to do that, that’s a while another ball game,” said Hearn.
“If you did that deliberately and you have a fighter like Devin Haney saying, ‘I could have lost my life in there. I wasn’t going to quit,’ and he was taking a beating at times. I think he’s taking it very badly and personally,” said Hearn.
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