Bill Haney lit into Ryan Garcia today on social media about his bold talk despite never having captured a world title to back it up. Papa Haney says Ryan is “yapping” but hasn’t signed up for random drug testing. He sees Ryan as a “fake.”
Will Ryan Garcia Appease Bill Haney?
Bill wants that as a preliminary move before any discussions can begin for a rematch with his son, Devin, who took a bad loss to Kingry earlier this year on April 20th in Brooklyn, New York.
Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) tested positive for the banned PED Ostarine for that fight, and Devin sued him for Battery, Fraud, and Breach of Contract. Bill hasn’t said whether Devin (31-0, 15 KOs) would drop the lawsuit if Ryan signs up for the drug testing and agrees to a rematch.
Eventually, Ryan may give Haney the rematch after he cools down and forgets about the lawsuit. That may depend on whether a ruling favors Haney and Ryan is stuck paying him millions. If that’s the case, the chances of Haney ever getting a rematch are quite low.
Ryan isn’t going to want to appease Bill and give concessions just to get the lawsuit dropped. Ryan will not say yes to drug testing, a rematch, and potentially taking a smaller cut of the plunder for the Devin rematch. He’s got pride, and he’ll know he’s giving up a lot just to get the lawsuit dropped, and he might disagree.
The Sharks are Waiting for Devin at 147
Haney would have to move on with his career, take the best fight he can get, and hope he doesn’t get sent into retirement. Devin’s options at welterweight are all dangerous and low-paying compared to a rematch with Ryan.
– Jaron Ennis
– Mario Barrios
– Brian Norman Jr.
– Eimantas Stanionis
– Conor Benn
None of those fighters are popular PPV attractions in the U.S., and it’s questionable whether Haney would be the favorite against any of them, even against Conor Benn. It’s obvious that Haney’s career will implode once it reaches the crush depths of the 147-lb division. He’s underquipped power and chin-wise to compete in that weight class.
Again, there’s no one to fight that he can make the money he got fighting Ryan. None of these guys have a large 12 million following on Instagram, and they’re not promotable due to a lack of charisma. Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn is fighting that out with Boots Ennis.
At this point, Haney’s stock is so low that another defeat is going to diminish what little marketability he has left. Given the former two-division world champion Haney’s size, he’s outgrown the 140-lb division and will need to compete among the sharks in the 147-lb division.
While that weight class is barren of talent, the top guys have good power, and it’s difficult to picture a positive future for Haney fighting in that division.
If you throw Haney in with welterweight champions Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis or Brian Norman Jr, it won’t end well for him. Those two ravenous sharks would feast on a tender morsel like Haney, who would have nothing to fend them off with but a few baby teeth.
It’s unlikely that Bill would target either of those champions for Devin to fight for a world title at welterweight, but even Stanionis and Barrios would be dangerous for him. I don’t think Haney would beat either of those fighters, even though they’re arguably paper champions.
If Bill saw how dire Devin’s situation was, he’d get on his hands and knees and beg Ryan to give his son the rematch because, without that, his career isn’t worth much now. It was pretty much over when Devin moved up to 140, but the only reason he won his first fight in the weight class is that former promoter Eddie Hearn matched him against old, slow guy Regis Prograis.
If Hearn had matched Haney against Liam Paro or Subrial Matias, he likely would have been knocked out, and there never would have been the opportunity to fight Ryan Garcia for him. Haney should have stayed with Hearn because he was doing a good job of selecting his opposition.
Some believe that even if Ryan did all those things, he would have to agree to be the B-side in the promotion, have his name second, and take the smaller revenue cut. Once Ryan agrees to the drug testing and rematch, would he have to continue to jump through Bill’s hoops and toe the line for the rematch to happen? It could be.
Rematch Might Not Be Worth It
In the end, how does Ryan come out ahead? Oscar De La Hoya said the Haney-Garcia did only 300,000 PPV buys for their April 20th fight on DAZN pay-per-view. Those numbers suggest that the boxing public wasn’t excited about seeing that fight, which turned out to be a mismatch, with Ryan wiping the deck with Haney.
Would the rematch bring in bigger numbers after what fans witnessed last April? I don’t think. When fans see a fighter get wiped out, they’re not eager to purchase the rematch on PPV. In this case, there might be even fewer PPV buys due to Haney choosing to sue Ryan, because fans see that as a sign of weakness on his part.
If Bill wants Devin to get the rematch with Ryan, he should have him drop the lawsuit, not make drug testing demands because he’ll be tested anyway, and take a smaller cut of the loot based on his defeat last April.
Bill is making a big deal about Ryan not having won any world titles, but the only reason Devin won his titles is that the divisions were watered down. He picked up three of his belts from George Kambosos Jr. at 135. He was elevated to WBC champion at lightweight. At 140, Devin beat the 35-year-old Prograis to win the WBC belt.
Man, I’m hearing all this yappin’ from Lying Ryan who hasn’t even signed up for random testing yet—screaming from the mountaintop like he’s got a belt to back it up. But let’s keep it real—ZERO championships, just fake headlines.
— Bill Haney (@BillHaney77) October 20, 2024
— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) October 18, 2024
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