Bill Haney blasted Ryan Garcia on social media today for his brave talk, even though he never won a world title to back it up. Daddy Haney says Ryan is “yeah” but did not sign up for random drug testing. He sees Ryan as a “fake”.
Will Ryan Garcia appease Bill Haney?
Bill wants this as a preliminary step before any discussions can begin for a rematch with his son, Devin, who took a bad loss to Kingry earlier this year on April 20 in Brooklyn, New York.
Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) tested positive for the banned PED Ostarine for that fight, and Devin sued him for Battery, Fraud and Breach of Contract. Bill did not say whether Devin (31-0, 15 KOs) would drop the lawsuit if Ryan submits to drug testing and agrees to a rematch.
Finally, Ryan can give Haney the rematch after he cools down and forgets about the lawsuit. It could depend on whether a ruling favors Haney and Ryan sticks to paying him millions. If that’s the case, the chances of Haney ever getting a rematch are pretty slim.
Ryan is not going to appease Bill and make concessions just to get the lawsuit dropped. Ryan will not say yes to drug testing, a rematch and possibly a smaller share of the spoils for the Devin rematch. He has pride, and he’ll know he’s giving up a lot just to get the lawsuit dropped, and he might disagree.
The Sharks are waiting for Devin at 147
Haney will have to continue his career, take the best fight he can get, and hope he isn’t sent into retirement. Devin’s options at welterweight are all dangerous and cheap compared to a rematch with Ryan.
– Jaron Ennis
– Mario Barrios
– Brian Norman Jr.
– Eimantas Stanionis
– Conor Benn
Neither of those fighters are popular PPV attractions in the US, and it’s doubtful Haney will be the favorite against any of them, even Conor Benn. It’s clear that Haney’s career will implode once it reaches the pressing depths of the 147-lb division. He is underequipped strength and skill to compete in that weight class.
Again, there is no one to fight that he can make the money he got fighting Ryan. None of these guys have a whopping 12 million followers on Instagram, and they’re not promoteable due to a lack of charisma. Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn battles it out with Boots Ennis.
At this point, Haney’s stock is so low that another loss is going to diminish what little marketability he has left. Given former two-division world champion Haney’s size, he has outgrown the 140-lb division and will have to compete among the sharks in the 147-lb division.
While that weight class is short on talent, the top guys have good power, and it’s hard to envision a positive future for Haney fighting in that division.
If you throw Haney in with welterweight champions Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis or Brian Norman Jr, it won’t end well for him. Those two predatory sharks would feast on a tender piece like Haney, who would have nothing to fend them off with a pair of baby teeth.
Bill is unlikely to target any of those champions for Devin to fight for a world welterweight title, but even Stanionis and Barrios will be dangerous for him. I don’t think Haney will beat either of those fighters, even though they are probably paper champions.
If Bill saw how dire Devin’s situation was, he would get on his hands and knees and beg Ryan to give his son the rematch, because without it his career isn’t worth much now. It was almost over when Devin moved up to 140, but the only reason he won his first fight in the weight class is because former promoter Eddie Hearn matched him against old, slow guy Regis Prograis.
If Hearn had beaten Haney against Liam Paro or Subrial Matias, he probably would have been eliminated, and there would never have been the opportunity to fight Ryan Garcia. Haney should have stayed with Hearn because he did a good job of picking his opposition.
Some believe that even if Ryan did all of those things, he would have to agree to be the B-side in the promotion, have his name second and take the smaller cut of the income. Once Ryan agreed to the drug testing and rematch, will he have to continue to jump through Bill’s hoops and get the line for the rematch to happen? It can be.
Rematch may not be worth it
In the end, how does Ryan come out ahead? Oscar De La Hoya said the Haney-Garcia just did 300,000 PPV buy for their 20th fight on DAZN pay-per-view. Those numbers suggest that the boxing public wasn’t excited to see that fight, which turned out to be a mismatch, with Ryan wiping the deck with Haney.
Would the rematch bring in bigger numbers after what fans saw last April? I don’t think so. When fans see a fighter get eliminated, they are not eager to buy the rematch on PPV. In this case, there could be even fewer PPV buys due to Haney choosing to sue Ryan because fans see it as a sign of weakness on his part.
If Bill wants Devin to get the rematch with Ryan, he should make him drop the lawsuit, not make demands for drug testing because he will be tested anyway, and take a smaller share of the spoils based on his defeat last April.
Bill makes a big deal about Ryan not winning any world titles, but the only reason Devin won his titles is because the divisions were watered down. He won three of his belts from George Kambosos Jr. picked up at 135. He was elevated to WBC lightweight champion. At 140, Devin beat the 35-year-old Prograis to win the WBC belt.
Man, I’m hearing all this rant from Lying Ryan who hasn’t even signed up for random testing yet – yelling from the mountain top like he has a belt to back it up. But let’s keep it real—ZERO championships, just fake headlines.
— Bill Haney (@BillHaney77) October 20, 2024
— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) October 18, 2024
