Devin Haney says Teofimo Lopez Jr turned down October fight

Devin Haney appears ready to resume his career following the rollercoaster circumstances from his last fight. 

Following a tumultuous build-up to his April 20 clash against Ryan Garcia, Haney was dropped three times and suffered a majority decision loss. However, on May 1, it was revealed that Garcia, who came into the fight 3.6 pounds over the 140-pound weight limit, tested positive for a banned substance. On June 20, the loss was changed to a No Contest and Garcia was suspended for a year due to the violation. By June 24, the WBC declared Haney the 140-pound champion in recess. 

Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) has mostly kept a low profile since the fight, but in an interview with Hall of Fame fighter turned commentator Andre Ward, Haney opened up about the past, and the future. 

“I am a competitor. When I first started out in boxing, I said, ‘I am going to be a great in the sport. I am going to be the best. I am not in here to be just a competitor, to be just one of the other guys. I am going to be the guy.’” Haney told “All The Smoke Fight.”

“Nothing has changed. Just a little adversity. That’s part of it. Every great has faced adversity. So, the world can see me face it, but I am going to rise even higher than I was before.

“I fought a guy that did everything wrong leading up to the fight, and me doing everything right.

“I had a great team, coaches, and a game plan. It’s just hard to beat someone when they [have performance enhancing drugs in their system]. PEDs are going to enhance whatever you got. He always had power and speed before that. PEDs are going to enhance whatever you got.

“If he was right here I’d get it back right now. I tried to do it fair, and [Garcia] fucked up. I did everything right, all my shit came back clean. Everything’s gotta be right [for the rematch]. Everything’s gotta be on my terms.”

Outside of a potential rematch against Garcia, Haney, 25, still has several options to consider across the stacked junior welterweight division. 

Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn is keen on offering Haney a December fight against IBF 140-pound titleholder Liam Paro in Australia, the location of which the former undisputed lightweight champion Haney is undefeated in two fights against George Kambosos Jr. 

According to Haney, an even more high-profile fight was also presented against WBO titleholder Teofimo Lopez Jr. in the Middle East, but the clash to settle their years-long beef never came to be.

“I was supposed to get back in the ring in October in Saudi [Arabia] and the next fight was gonna be Teo,” said Haney. “Turki [Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia] offered him a fight. He said he’s not ready.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine, and more. He’s been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.