Devin Haney’s father, Bill Haney, says his son is “the face of boxing,” and they’re going after Ryan Garcia for his PED use in their April 20 fight for “the good of the sport.”
It’s unclear whose idea it was for Haney to sue Ryan, but the move may backfire without much benefit. If it is done with the idea of making more money than getting duplicates, that may not work. If Ryan is hurt by being sued, will he throw Haney a bone by giving him a rematch? I don’t see it.
For all intents and purposes, the case is a duplicate of Haney because you may be shooting yourself in the foot by choosing to go the legal route. I see it as an either-or situation. You can either get a refund or sue, but you can’t have both. That is shortsighted.
If the money Haney gets for his lawsuit is more than he would get in a rematch, it might be worth it, but it might not be. I wonder how much Haney hopes to get from the lawsuit. $10 million? It doesn’t seem well thought out.
However, the fan backlash over Haney’s case makes it a waste of time because that is so important.
What Bill Haney said in an interview with Boxingscene about Devin being “the face of boxing” is hard to swallow. To fill that kind of talent, you have to entertain and produce results, and his fighting style doesn’t sit well with the fans.
At its core, Haney is a light-hitting fighter in a Shakur-esque mold that scrambles, grabs and moves. Those types of fighters are a dime a dozen in the sport, especially when they hit as hard as he does.
On Friday, Haney filed a lawsuit against Ryan Garcia for alleged battery, fraud, and unjust enrichment in their fight last April, which could hurt his popularity more than his loss to Ryan.
Devin’s loss to Ryan, his questionable win over Vasily Lomachenko, and his fight with Jorge Linares showed that he is nowhere near being a top guy. He appeared as a fighter who defeated George Kambosos Jr, a weak three-time champion, and 35-year-old Regis Prograis.
Haney is not viewed as the face of the sport after his performance by Ryan when he was hit and it appears that he was weighed down by the referee in the seventh round. Devin had 15 minutes of fame as the reigning champion at 135 and 140, but that time has passed.
When he gets back in the ring, he’ll likely move up to 147 because he’s still too big for the 140-lb division. It will be difficult for Haney at welterweight because they all hit hard, and they could play a non-boxer with an injury history.
The sharks in the welterweight division will be waiting for Haney when he moves up, and that could hurt him. That’s why it’s confusing why he confused the mega-payday in which he would get a rematch with Ryan by filing a lawsuit. It doesn’t make sense.
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