Liam Paro says Devin Haney wanted ‘dumb money’ in failed negotiations

IBF welterweight champion Liam Paro says Devin Haney asked for “silly money” and “wasn’t serious” in his failed attempts to negotiate a fight recently. The undefeated Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) says he gave up trying to make a fight because of Haney’s money expectations.

Haney’s popularity has plummeted since his loss to Ryan Garcia last April, and he’s in no position to command the big paydays he would have had he won that fight. To get back to where he was before, he needs to rebuild his career by defeating some of the top dogs.

Paro will instead defend his IBF 140-lb title against Richardson Hitchins #1 (18-0, 7 KOs) on December 7 at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The event will be shown live on DAZN.

It is doubtful that Haney, 25, could have made the IBF’s 10lb rehydration limit for a fight against Paro. This would require Haney to delay full rehydration until after the morning weigh-in on the day of the Paro fight. Could Haney keep his weight no higher than 150 lbs until the morning of the fight?

“I wanted this fight for a long time. He overdid himself, asking for stupid money. He didn’t bring a belt to the table, so we just went. We could tell he wasn’t serious,” said Liam Paro to Fighthype about his attempts to put together a fight against Devin Haney.

Paro wouldn’t say what kind of money Haney asked for to challenge him for his IBF belt, but that’s not important now. He missed his chance.

Haney is going to start pushing for a rematch against Ryan Garcia because it’s his best chance to get a big payday and get back on top. If Haney can’t get that fight because of his lawsuit, he’ll need to move up to 147 and challenge one of the champions in the division.

A fight with Mario Barrios or Eimantas Stanionis would give Haney a chance to capture a welterweight belt to help him get other important fights. These are very beatable champions, but still have some pop in their punches. If Haney’s punch resistance has been undermined by his loss to Ryan, he will have trouble against those champions.