A purse bid is scheduled for June 18th for WBC light welterweight champion Devin Haney’s title defense against mandatory Sandor Martin.
Haney (31-1, 15 KOs) can’t put off this defense because it’s already overdue, and Sandor (43-3, 15 KOs) wants his title shot.
It doesn’t work in the 30-year-old Spaniard Martin’s favor to wait longer for the fight against Haney becaue he could lose to someone, and he’ll be stuck with a less popular fighter holding the WBC.
Haney’s Recent Loss and Title Retention
Haney lost his last fight to Ryan Garcia on April 20th, but the WBC allowed Haney to keep his title because Ryan was 3.2 lbs overweight at the weigh-in for their fight.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has repeatedly said that Haney will be taking care of his mandatory next against Sandor Martin. However, Devin and his dad, Bill Haney, haven’t confirmed whether they’ll take the fight against Martin next.
If they choose not to go through with it, they can give him a step aside and then go ahead with whatever fight they’re targeting.
A unification would be ideal for Haney if he wants to fight one of the other belt-holders at 140 because it would be a bigger fight than a title defense against Martin, who isn’t a popular or well-known fighter in the U.S.
It would be a bad deal for Haney to fight Sandor because it’s one that won’t do big numbers on PPV, and it could hurt his negotiations for future fights if this match is a pay-per-view dud like his fight against Regis Prograis last December.
Uncertainty Surrounds Haney’s Decision
With Haney, it’s difficult to predict what he’ll do because he already lost his last fight against Ryan Garcia, and he’s big for the 140-lb division. Vacating the WBC title would allow Haney to move up to 147, where his life will be easier when making weight.
Haney’s size advantage is one reason he’s found so much success during his career, and that’ll disappear if he moves up to 147 to face bigger fighters who are more or less as big as him.
Martin lost to Teofimo Lopez in 2022 by a controversial 10 round split decision. Since that defeat, Martin has come back to win his last two fights, beating Mohamed El Marcouchi and Arblin Kaba.
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