Trainer Jeff Mayweather says it’s a bad idea for Devin Haney to take time off to wait a year or more on a rematch with Ryan Garcia.
Staying Active vs. Waiting for Rematch
Jeff feels Haney should stay active with his career because he’s in his prime at 25 and gains nothing by sitting on the sidelines waiting on Ryan. All the time out of the ring will leave Haney stewing on his loss, and that’s not good for him. It would be detrimental to Haney’s career to take a year or more off.
Some fans feel that Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) lacks the confidence to stay active because he’s worried they’ll get beaten in the next year and then lose out on the lucrative rematch with Ryan.
If Haney had faith in his ability to win, he could stay busy and continue to get good paydays while waiting for Ryan’s one-year suspension to end. Haney has plenty of options at 140 against IBF champion Liam Paro and WBO champ Teofimo Lopez.
Both champions are interested in fighting Haney, and they would be good-laying fights. Maybe not as much as what Haney would make in a rematch with Ryan, but it would be better than sitting inactive and making nothing.
“He’s in his prime. I don’t think he should take that much time off. I know he’s going to be training and still some kind of shape. Still, two years is a long time,” said Jeff Mayweather on his YouTube channel, talking about Devin Haney wanting to take a year or two off after his loss to Ryan Garcia.
It only makes sense for Haney to sit out of the ring if he’s lost his self-belief and no longer feels he’s capable of beating the top-tier opposition. If Haney did stay busy, he would likely be offered fights against Teofimo, Paro, Alberto Puello, Isaac Cruz and Shakur Stevenson. It’s questionable whether Haney beats any of those fighters, especially if his punch resistance has gone downhill.
Mayweather’s Advice
“You’re taking two years off only to fight Ryan when there are a lot of people in line waiting to get their chance to fight for a world title. Obviously, it’s going to be in your head [the loss], but it’s going to be more in your head if you take that long just to try and right that wrong that happened to you. That’s a long time,” said Jeff.
Haney wouldn’t have to wait two years for a rematch with Ryan, but it would be at least a year, and that’s not a good idea unless he’s lost his faith in winning fights. It just seems like Haney is focusing on that final payday and might choose to retire afterward if it goes badly for him.
Did the loss to Ryan take Haney’s self-confidence away permanently? Haney wouldn’t be the first fighter that retirement after a loss.
“I don’t think it’s wise to take two years off just to wait on somebody that beat you,” said Jeff. “It don’t take two years. You’re waiting on a guy [Ryan] that fought you for your world title. You didn’t fight him for his world title. So why are you waiting for a guy who got caught cheating and fought you?”
It doesn’t make sense at all for Haney to be waiting on Ryan Garcia because there are some interesting fights he could take after an easy tune-up to rebuild his confidence. If Haney gets a win over a light puncher, he should be ready for a bigger test to keep active while waiting for Ryan.
“You may fight him again and he might use the same thing or something different. I guess they won’t have Scooter this time,” said Jeff.
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