Haney ‘Poisoned by the money’, not chasing legacy

Devin Haney is a fighter that promoter Eddie Hearn considers no longer “legacy-chasing” as he was earlier in his 10-year career. Hearn says Haney (32-0, 16 KOs) has become poisoned “by the money”. He believes that at this point he is only fighting for money.

When asked if he would be interested in re-signing Haney to Matchroom, Hearn said: “Probably not.” That’s understandable.

What Eddie feels contributed to former two-division world champion Haney losing his love for the game was his fight with Ryan Garcia last year. After taking a beating against Ryan, who tested positive for a PED after the fight, he was booed by fans for starting a lawsuit for battery. There was little sympathy for Devin.

Hearn does believe that Haney has his fight against WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. next month. on November 22 at the ANB Arena in Riyadh will win. However, the oddsmakers don’t believe it, and there is a very good chance that Norman Jr. will finish what Ryan started in his takedown of Devin.

“Poisoned by the money”

“No disrespect to Devin. He’s not chasing legacy the same way he was when he started his journey,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. Box Social. “It’s because he got poisoned by the sport, and he got poisoned by the money. It happens to everybody. It’s not a comment on Devin.”

The fights against Vasily Lomachenko, Ryan Garcia and Jose Ramirez were all good paying fights for Haney. He didn’t look good in any of them. At this point, if he chooses to focus on legacy fights, his career will likely evaporate quickly. Putting Haney with the killers at 140, like Gary Antuanne Russell, or former unified welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, will likely be a nightmare for him.

The upside would be huge for Devin, legacy-wise, but his chances of success would be slim. He doesn’t have the pop in his punches, and his chain is already too brittle to deal with punchers. That’s why we saw so much movement from him in his last fight against Jose Ramirez on Turki Alalshikh’s May 2, 2025 card at Times Square in New York.

From Legacy Fighter to Prizefighter

“After what happened against Ryan Garcia, he would have lost a lot of love for the game,” Hearn said. “What happened to him against Ryan Garcia was harsh. The reaction was harsh. He probably thought to himself, ‘F*** trying to please people. Give me the money.'”

Anytime a fighter is dominated like Haney was by Ryan, they are not going to receive accolades. It had nothing to do with Haney. That’s how fans are. If it had been anyone, the reaction would have been the same. Haney’s decision to start a lawsuit made him look weaker in the eyes of fans. So it’s not surprising that it worked against him in terms of more criticism from fans.

Hearn still expects him to win

“So, the Brian Norman fight, he’s got a little bit of both. He’s got a chance to be a three-division world champion. It’s a very good fight and a dangerous fight, but I expect Devin to win,” said Hearn.

I wouldn’t count on Haney coming out victorious against Norman Jr if I were Hearn. There is a great disparity in power between them, and one rises in their career while the other declines sharply.

“Probably not,” Hearn said when asked if he believed he could work with Haney again. “Devin got a little poisoned by the sport.”