Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney both seem to be affected by the aftermath of the April 20th bout as the two American rivals revert to indicating their retirements for reasons both unique and confusing. While Garcia now finds himself facing a likely suspension by the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, Haney is wrestling with both his mandate to fight WBC mandatory challenger Sandor Martin and the loss he suffered against Garcia.
While neither of the two fighters appear to have the mental state to compete in the near future, only one may not actually have the opportunity to fight in the ring. Reports have now emerged of the NYSAC preparing to discipline Ryan Garcia (25-0 21 KO’s) upcoming Friday and overturning his April 20th win over Devin Haney (31-1, 15 KO’s), which has apparently quickly spurred Garcia to claim retirement.
“I may retire. I’m done with this game!” Garcia posted on Twitter/X yesterday.
An hour later, Garcia would proclaim he was “officially retired, a decision which has likely been prompted by the NYSAC’s hearing with the fighter on Friday. Though it is likely that Garcia will be able to muster up his last defense for the hearing following the revelation of his positive drug test, the super lightweight’s (140 lbs) behavior leading up to tomorrow’s hearing has been fraught with controversy, which might lead the NYSAC to impose a steep sentence upon the American contender.
Amidst Garcia’s woes with the NYSAC while facing a potential lengthy suspension, World Boxing Council (WBC) 140 lbs champion Devin Haney has expressed dissatisfaction when it came to the latest purse bid proceedings for his mandated bout against Spanish contender Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KO’s) after the WBC revealed Top Rank, Martin’s promoter, to have won the purse bid and to be promoting their fight.
“Wow Matchroom… nasty work.” Haney stated in response to the reports of Top Rank being the sole bidder for the WBC’s mandated bout between him and Martin.
Haney’s statement came across as confusing, as it had been thought he was a free agent; something that was confirmed by Matchroom chairman Eddie Hearn himself who revealed that he did not, in fact, promote Haney.
“We have no contractual obligations to Devin Haney,” Hearn told reporters during a recent public appearance after being confronted about the purse bid situation. “Just like he [is] and has been a free agent. and is talking to other people, he [Devin Haney] will do what suits him., and we will do what suits us.
“If you don’t pledge your loyalty to us, if we don’t have an obligation to lose money on your fights, we are not going to be queuing up to do so.“
Devin Haney is well-known for attaching to promotions on a fight-by-fight basis rather than signing multi-fight contracts with promotions, effectively making him a free agent after every fight. In the past, Haney has worked with several promotions including Top Rank and Matchroom; last working with the latter when it came to his December 9th fight against Matchroom fighter Regis Prograis (29-2, 24 KO’s).
While Hearn had also been associated with Haney in the build-up to his April 20th fight against Ryan Garcia, Golden Boy founder and the promoter of that event, Oscar De La Hoya, revealed that Hearn was not officially Haney’s promoter at the time; confirming Haney was a free agent since before his fight with Garcia.
Haney raised even more eyebrows not long after when he asserted yesterday that he would retire from the sport of boxing.
“I’mma take some time… spend some of my money… travel the world and I’ll be back in two years after Ryan’s suspension and we can fight again.” Haney posted on Twitter/X.
Haney’s words suggest he is considering vacating his WBC 140 lbs title for no apparent reason, though it is difficult to ascertain how serious he is when it comes to claiming retirement. Aside from Garcia, Haney’s other contemporary rivals have made identical claims when confronted with the business of boxing, with Teofimo Lopez (20-1, 13 KO’s) and Shakur Stevenson (21-0, 10 KO’s) in particular having expressed retirement only to resurface months later in the ring or simply refuse to vacate their title to confirm their retirement.
Coincidentally, Haney, Garcia, Lopez and Stevenson all fought at or near the same weight class, share the same American nationality and are close to each other’s age; which speaks more so of a trend that currently exists within the current generation of American boxers to express their dissatisfaction at decisions in boxing by claiming to be retired.
Likely, neither Devin Haney or Ryan Garcia will retire; though a lengthy suspension continues to float above the head of Garcia which will keep him out of the ring. However, in the case of Haney, there is no actual indication he will leave the sport unless he chooses to relinquish his WBC title―which in itself could also simply entail an attempt by Haney to move up a division.
