Devin Haney, the WBC light welterweight champion, says he’s going to pursue legal action against Ryan Garcia over his positive PED test for their fight last April.
Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) believes his marketability was hurt by his 12-round majority decision defeat against Ryan Garcia, who tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine for their April 20th fight.
Factors Contributing to Low Purse Bid
Devin feels that the low-winning purse bid for his mandatory Sandor Martin this week shows that his value has been lowered. Haney might not be realizing that it doesn’t matter that he holds the WBC light welterweight title.
It’s about popularity and great match-ups for the promoters and networks. Unfortunately, Haney’s fight with Sandor Martin does not promise to bring in huge ratings or create interest from the networks.
It doesn’t matter that Haney holds the WBC 140-lb title because being a champion in this era means very little. It’s more about popularity, an exciting fighting style, and a strong social media presence.
Yesterday, the New York State Athletic Commission gave Ryan a one-year ban for the positive test.
Legal Action and Rematch Prospects
“It definitely had a major impact. I haven’t made a million and a half since my beginning days of signing with Matchroom,” said Devin Haney to Title Sports Network about his belief that his loss to Ryan Garcia is the cause of the low purse bid for his WBC mandatory Sandor Martin.
The combination of Haney’s fighting style, being a finesse Shakur-esque fighter, lack of power, little-known opponent, and recent defeat all likely contributed to the low purse bid by Top Rank.
Even Ryan Garcia wasn’t expecting big things for his fight against Oscar Duarte last December on DAZN. He didn’t put that on PPV, even though he’s a bigger name than Haney.
Haney’s fighting style, which involves a lot of clinching and movement, isn’t the most exciting one for fans to watch. Haney fights a lot like Shakur Stevenson, and it’s not surprising that Top Rank wasn’t willing to pour a lot of money into his purse bid for his fight against little-known opponent Sandor Martin.
“I haven’t made a million and a half dollars since my beginning stages at Matchroom. So, it [the loss] affected me. My lawyers and my team will do that in court against Ryan Garcia, and we will take legal action because it has affected me. Not only financially but mentally. ”
Haney had already shown chin problems before fighting Ryan in his contests against Jorge Linares, Joseph Diaz, and Vasily Lomachenko. It was a matter of time before he fought someone with enough pop at 140 to expose that flaw, and he’d be right where he is now.
“We’re going to weigh our options,” said Haney when asked if he’s going to defend against his WBC mandatory Sandor Martin next. “We’re going to talk to the WBC now.
What Haney fails to mention is that he wasn’t a huge draw before his fight with Ryan Garcia. His previous match against Regis Prograis last year reportedly brought in low PPV numbers, and that was against a well-known WBC 140-lb champion.
Sandor Martin is a mere contender who isn’t a household name in the U.S. or elsewhere. He is known to hardcore boxing fans for losing to Teofimo Lopez in 2022 and beating a past-his-prime Mikey Garcia in 2021.
It’s unclear how Haney’s legal action will impact his chances of getting a rematch against Ryan Garcia. On social media, Haney asked Ryan, “Let’s run it back.” If Haney wants a lucrative rematch with Ryan, he’s not taking the best path to making that happen by suing him.
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