Devin Haney filed a lawsuit against Ryan Garcia today over their fight on April 20th.
The suit alleges that Ryan committed battery and fraud and enriched himself unjustly, according to Boxingscene. Haney seeks punitive damages for emotional and mental distress—also the loss of reputation due to the defeat.
Garcia had tested positive for the banned PED Ostarine for that fight and came in 3.5 lbs overweight. Kingry knocked Haney down three times en route to a 12-round majority decision at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The Lawsuit charges
– Fraud
– Battery
– Unjust enrichment
Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) is seeking punitive damages. Just how much is unclear, but it will need to outweigh what a rematch would bring in for it to be worthwhile. Haney wants a rematch with Ryan, and that would seem very unlikely to happen if he winds up losing mega-money from this lawsuit. Will Ryan entertain the idea of fighting Haney again after this? Maybe not. That would be bad for Haney because he won’t get the same dough fighting anyone else.
The New York State Athletic Commission overturned the contest results and ruled it a no-contest. Ryan reportedly paid Haney for being overweight, but he was later fined and suspended by the New York Commission for his positive Ostarine test.
Given that the Commission has already fined Ryan, whether he could lose additional money from Haney is unclear.
Fans on social media are reacting negatively to Haney’s lawsuit today, criticizing him for what they view as a signal of weakness.
They feel that he can’t handle being beaten by Ryan, so he’s turning to the courts, which won’t change what happened last April.
In their minds, the left hooks that Ryan repeatedly hurt Haney with would have done the same thing to him whether he tested positive for Ostarine or not. Haney wasn’t making adjustments in the fight, and his bad habit of clinching frequently put him in the line of fire for Ryan’s left hook.
Ryan beat Haney soundly in the fight, and he’s seen as beaten hype job in the eyes of many now. They feel that Haney can’t handle power punchers and would have the same thing happen to him if he fought someone else that could hit hard.
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