Devin Haney played with his career, choosing to ask Ryan Garcia for the events of their April 20 meeting earlier this year in Brooklyn, New York.
If Haney loses the trial, it could have hurt his career, making him a pariah with top-level fighters and treating him as one of the untouchable class. The lawsuit is a huge gamble, and it could sink Haney’s career, leaving him much worse off than he had been.
Did Haney make the wrong move?
Perhaps what Haney should have done instead of a lawsuit was start creating interest in a rematch with Ryan Garcia by conducting frequent interviews and posting on social media. When Ryan’s suspension ends in April 2025, there will be a lot of fan interest.
Haney would have had the revenge angle, and would not have been seen as weak, as many fans now see him because of his lawsuit. Even though Haney lost the rematch, he still made a lot of money.
There is a very real potential that Haney’s lawsuit could cause him to forever lose the chance for the biggest payday of his career in a rematch with Ryan, which would be a huge missed opportunity.
If Haney wins his lawsuit and is awarded tens of millions, it might not matter. He will have enough money funded by the lawsuit after giving his lawyer his piece of the take to live comfortably without worrying about his career going belly up. Rather has already, but the process would be the final end.
The process could undermine his chances of getting other big-name fighters to face him unless His Excellency Turki Alalshikh takes him under his wing. Turki would have the money to attract fighters to face Haney, but other than that, he could be an outcast. It is unclear how Turki views Haney after all this. Will he see them as worthy of injecting money into his career, as he did with the former Terence Crawford, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, or will he ignore them?
Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine and came in 3.5 lbs overweight for what was originally scheduled to be a title fight at 140 for Haney’s WBC light welterweight belt.
“Devin’s dad made great decisions for his son. I think this is another great decision,” said coach Greg Hackett FighthypeHe reacts to Devin Haney filing a lawsuit against Ryan Garcia, alleging fraud, battery and unjust enrichment for their April 20 fight.
It doesn’t seem like a well thought out idea to choose to pursue Ryan because it seems more like a move made on emotion rather than looking at the big picture. If you look at the process from a narrow perspective, it makes sense, but now, when you take how it ruins Haney’s chance of a rematch. If Haney is shunned by top fighters from now on, he’s going to be shooting himself in the foot.
Is Ryan Garcia dead?
“My mind is a little different. I would like to hurt Ryan Garcia (in the ring), but in business and in the financial world, they always use this term, ‘You have to hit where it hurts,’ which is the bank Hackett continued.
“I could see Devin doing that because not only was it not what he did right, but we really want to make you pay for it. What we really want him to understand is that (stuff) wasn’t cool, and it didn’t need to happen again,” Hackett said.
If Haney thinks his career is over, the lawsuit makes sense. However, if Haney sees this as a way to milking Ryan Garcia like a cow to get as much money as he can from him and then have a rematch, he might be disappointed.
“You never know. That could be something Devin wants to do to keep the attention. He wouldn’t do it, but I can’t be mad at him for doing it. In the entertainment world, it’s a whole different world from what we’re used to in everyday life. Sometimes, you have to deal with things like that,” Hackett said.
“If something happened, we’re talking about a whole empire (Haney’s career), and it took years to build. Boom! They wouldn’t let him make more money if something stupid happened to the kid from what he did So, you have to do it.
