All it took was one night for Devin Haney’s career to be turned upside down.
Heading into his April 20 showdown versus Ryan Garcia, Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) was rated among the world’s best – an undefeated former undisputed lightweight champion who was making the first defense of his WBC 140-pound strap.
The drama began when Garcia, who had spent much of the promotion seemingly more interested in his social media status than preparing for the fight, came in three pounds over the junior welterweight limit. But then on fight night, the hard-hitting Mexican American stunned the boxing world, dropping Haney three times on his way to a points win.
Garcia’s shining moment was quickly overshadowed when he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. The outcome of the fight was changed to a No Contest.
Yet, Haney’s name hasn’t reappeared on pound for pound lists, his reputation still scarred by what happened on that fateful night. So, what should be the 25-year-old Haney’s next move? In search of that answer, BoxingScene spoke to three of the world’s best trainers, the highly respected Stephen “Breadman” Edwards, trainer of Caleb Plant and Julian Williams, among others; Bob Santos, 2022 Sports Illustrated and Ring Magazine Trainer of the Year; and 2002 BWAA Trainer of the Year James “Buddy” McGirt. Here’s what they had to say:
THOUGHTS ON HANEY-GARCIA
Edwards
“Devin Haney is an excellent fighter, a really good athlete, very well-conditioned. He’s been taking progressively tougher fights. It’s hard to really say about the Garcia fight because of all the extra circumstances that were surrounding it. I don’t know if it was on an even playing field or not. So, I don’t really have a take on the fight.”
Santos
“Haney is a tremendous fighter and what he’s accomplished at his age is something not too many have done in this sport. I think he showed a tremendous amount of heart against Ryan Garcia. I was surprised by the fight because he was the overwhelming favorite to win. It would have been one thing had he just lost the fight, but seeing the knockdowns and seeing the way he was getting hurt, I think we were all kind of shocked.
“You had a situation where Garcia didn’t make weight. Plus, he tested positive, and whether he was willingly taking it or not, you’re responsible for anything that goes into your body. So, it’s just a bad situation for everybody involved.”
McGirt
“I didn’t watch the fight; I just saw clips. But I think that he just needs to make minor adjustments, nothing major. And I think he’ll be fine.”
HAS YOUR OPINION OF HANEY CHANGED SINCE THE GARCIA FIGHT?
Edwards
“No, because anybody can lose. The opinion I had after the fight is that he has a lot of heart. That’s honestly what I thought to myself. I saw how hurt he was early and how he stayed in the fight, kept getting up and fighting back. That was a close fight even though he got knocked down three times.”
Santos
“No, I still think he’s a great fighter and I think he will continue to win world titles. At the end of the day, he fought against a guy who did not make weight and tested positive for drugs. So, I think for anybody to say they’re down on Devin Haney and he’s not as good as what we thought he was, hey, anytime anybody is using enhancements, and competing against somebody else, it’s not on a level playing field. So, if you have different opinion on him because of that, that’s really sad.”
McGirt
“No, I think that, in boxing or in any sport, Sometimes you need something like that to help you make adjustments so when move on and are faced with that situation again, you know how to deal with it and handle it.”
CAN SUCH A FIGHT AFFECT A BOXER PSYCHOLOGICALLY?
Edwards
“Sure, it can. It depends on how strong Devin is mentally moving forward, and how much he allows the criticism to get to him, but it can definitely affect him moving forward if he’s not mentally strong. Firs, he should stay off social media – Twitter and all that kind of stuff because the fans and all the critics can become very disrespectful toward the fighters. The second thing I would do is get him right back in the ring as long as he’s medically cleared to fight. I think that fighters in this era, they lose a fight and stay out of the ring too long. They have so much time to think about it that it affects them much worse than it did in other eras.
“Emanuel Steward is a trainer known for bringing fighters back after tough losses. Notably, Tommy Hearns who was one of the best boxers in terms of bouncing back from a loss. And Lennox Lewis got knocked out by Hasim Rahman and Manny brought him right back in an immediate rematch. Devin should get back in the ring, beat someone up and get the bad taste out of his mouth of the Ryan Garcia fight.”
Santos
“Sure, psychologically. That’s the thing: the knock downs he had to go through, the types of punches he was taking that night. And, of course, we’re all human beings. So, in the back of your mind, the next time you climb into the ring, I’m sure you got to be thinking, you know, is the next guy I’m going to fight, is he going to test positive, too?
These are factors that you have to look at. So, he’s going to have to be very strong minded moving forward. It’s not going to be an easy thing to do but if anybody could do it, Devin Haney can do it. He’s a strong-minded kid. He’s accomplished being so young and going overseas to Australia etc.
“So, if anyone can do it, it’s Devin Haney. He’s been through a lot of adversity. He went overseas, you know, he turned pro in Mexico. So, he’s been down that road before, and I’m sure he’ll overcome. But any lesser type of person or lesser mindset, you know, that could really end a guy’s career because some guys, they just never recover from a loss.”
McGirt
“No, I personally believe that Haney will mature more from this fight and become a better fighter. I think it could affect some fighters, but I don’t see it affecting him. I just think that he’s mentally in a different category as far as wanting to be back on top. He’s determined to be great, so when you gotta get that type of determination, they’re just not gonna take it laying down. They’re going to come back and be better than before.”
THOUGHTS ON BOUTS VERSUS TEOFIMO LOPEZ, SHAKUR STEVENSON & GERVONTA DAVIS
Edwards
“It’s hard to say because I gotta see how he looks in camp. He’s coming off a three-knockdown fight. I can’t really say now because I don’t know how he’s looking and things like that. It’s too hard to tell, to be honest with you.
“I would like to see him in a comeback fight before I can say how he looks against three of the best fighters in the world.”
Santos
“A Teofimo fight would be a great fight. If Teofimo’s power can get to Haney, I would say he’ll be victorious. If he can’t, I would favor Haney. So, whoever can implement their gameplan wins. I’d love to see that.
“On Haney versus Shakur, I like Devin Haney. I just think Shakur is not a big enough puncher to hurt Haney and I think Haney has better feet than Shakur.
“I don’t think anybody beats Tank. I’ve been in pro boxing for over 32 years. I think he’s one of the best I’ve ever seen. Gervonta Davis is not just as a puncher, he’s an underestimated boxer. He’s the complete package. He can do it all. I’m a big believer.
Pound for pound, he’s one of the best fighters in the world, not just in his weight class. He’s tremendous. Let me say it again, a tremendous fighter.”
McGirt
“Well, you know, this is my thing. I think that he should come back and take a tune-up fight before he jumps in with the big guys. I think he should have a tune-up fight first and get back on track. That’s my opinion. You go back to the drawing board and work on things and then you take a fight to work on what you’ve been working on. But I think Tank should fight Shakur and then the winner will fight Haney. I won’t pick a winner for
Tank-Shakur. I’ll just sit back and enjoy it. To me, it’s a pick ‘em fight. I think Haney can compete with anybody. He just needs to get back on track.”
CAN HANEY HAVE SUCCESS AT WELTERWEIGHT?
Edwards
“If Devin were to fight a Mario Barrios, he has the stylistic advantage, the speed advantage and we see that speed gives Mario trouble with Keith Thurman and Gervonta Davis. But we’ve got to see how Devin would look getting hit by a 147 pounder. But it’s about when the fight would take place. If Devin were to take off a year and a half and come right back and fight Barrios then you know that’s a little bit different from taking a tune-up fight or two first. The circumstances mean a lot.”
Santos
“I train [WBC welterweight world champion] Mario Barrios. We’ve been in the ring with Haney before and sparred him. We know him pretty well. I think it would be a great fight.
I think Haney can have success at 147. It might even be better for him because then he doesn’t have to cut so much weight because he is a big guy and he’s getting older.”
McGirt
“As you move to 147, you should take a tune-up fight at 147 before you go test the waters first. He has the ability to do it, but you test the waters to see how you carry the weight and how you feel with the weight because there’s a lot to it. So, I think that if he does it the right way he would be successful, but he just can’t rush into it.”
WHO SHOULD HANEY FACE NEXT?
Edwards
“I don’t have a specific person, but it should be a tune-up fight, you know, within the next couple of months, and in fairness, I would like to see him fight the Ryan Garcia rematch.
Like if they started, you know, if they did 365, 24/7 drug testing, you know, and they came up with a fair weight for both of them to fight. I would like to see him fight Ryan Garcia but under strict drug testing.
“But let me say this: Devin’s team has done a great job with him. Whatever decision they make is probably going to be the right one because they’ve made some great decisions with his career. But I would probably take a tune-up and a lesser fight and get back rolling. But if you take a year off, people don’t want to see you in a tune-up. They want to see you in a big fight. “
Santos
“I would take, at the bare minimum, eight months off to maybe a year. He may be good in four or five months but when you’re that type of talent and as young as he is, why take a risk? That was a very physical fight. I’d give the body time to heal, let him recover. I would err on the side of caution.”
McGirt
“Anybody between 140 and 147, even 143-144. Get someone with a decent record, decent name and see how he feels at that weight. Then if you feel good, then you take the next step.”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” back in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].
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