Devin Haney won’t be fighting IBF light welterweight champion Liam Paro before the end of the year or take a needed confidence booster. The recently beaten Haney will want unrealistic money for him to fight Paro, and it’s not there without His Excellency Turki Alalshikh taking an interest in that matchup.
The money Haney would want won’t be there without a Riyadh Season event, and thus far, it’s not happening for that fight. Turki does things in a big way and would want Haney to fight a talented fighter.
However, even if the money were magically produced to give Haney what he would be looking for to challenge Paro, there’s the problem of the IBF’s 10-lb rehydration limit. It would be impossible for Haney, given that he rehydrates to the mid-160s for his fights at 140.
Haney would have to weigh in on the morning of the fight and be no heavier than 150 lbs, which is likely impossible. He can’t do it without putting his health at risk and winding up in the hospital.
Hearn doesn’t say how much Haney would insist on getting for a fight against Paro, but it’s likely in the $5 million range for a guaranteed purse. He says Haney would likely want $4 million for a simple confidence booster.
Hearn feels that when young fighters focus only on how much they will make for their purses, they lose sight of their development, which hurts their careers. With Haney, he got a taste of the mega-millions from his fight against Ryan Garcia on April 20th, and now he wants nothing less for every fight. Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen like that when you’re not fighting a star like Ryan.
“Ultimately, when Devin says, ‘When the numbers make sense,’ that basically means the fight is not going to happen because Devin is in a really interesting spot,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to the Chris Mannix Boxing podcast, discussing the unlikelihood of Devin Haney facing IBF light welterweight champion Liam Paro next.
Haney’s PPV Fights
- Ryan Garcia: 500,000 buys
- Regis Prograis: 50,000
- Vasily Lomachenko: 150,000
“Without Riyadh Season, if I’m Devin Haney, I have to come back in almost a confidence-building fight. He may not like that term, but if I was representing him and guiding his career, that’s what I would be doing,” said Hearn.
Haney would likely want a huge payday, even for just a middle-of-the-road journeyman opponent, and that’s not going to happen. He never proved himself as a PPV draw before fighting Ryan. So, he can’t ask for mega-money for a confidence-booster-level opponent. If Haney insisted on $4 million for a fight against a tomato can, he’d be laughed out of the negotiating room.
Hearn points out that His Excellency Turki Alalshikh would want Haney to fight someone talented, like Teofimo Lopez or Ryan Garcia. Those are not the type of fights that Haney needs right now because he’s coming off a bad loss, and needs to build himself back up.
“The money he gets for a confidence-building fight probably doesn’t get him out of bed,” said Hearn. “I think with Devin, sometimes you have to strip it back a little bit and and go back to basics. ‘I need to rebuild a little bit.
“One of the biggest fights in boxing is Devin Haney against Ryan Garcia rematch. He cannot go into that fight without having a confidence booster, but it’s very difficult to get a confidence booster and get $4 million. He almost needs to sit back and take $1 million for a relatively straightforward fight.”
Haney may sit inactive and wait for Ryan’s suspension to end in April 2025 before he fights again because he’s going to want big money, and he’s not going to get that fighting anyone else at 140 or 147. He won’t want a paycut from what he got last time he fought against Kingry.
“He’s hoping that His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] will come to the table,” said Chris Mannix about Haney, counting on Turki paying him a fortune for a low-level, non-risky fight.
“Of course, everybody is hoping, His Excellency,” said Hearn.
“I heard he was hoping on October 12th that he would be on that,” said Mannix.
“We had a chat. I took Devin to His Excellency at the front row of the LA card [at BMO Stadium] and introduced him. He went and saw him a couple of weeks after. There were talks about October 12th. His Excellency, like Devin Haney. I think he will get an opportunity.
“The problem is, His Excellency is not going to want Devin Haney in a confidence-builder fight. He’s going to want him to fight Teofimo Lopez, Ryan Garcia, Gervonta Davis, and that’s not the fight for Devin Haney.
“Devin needs to get out in December. Sometimes, you need to forget about the money and say, ‘I need this for my own development.’ But money is everything and the key to those guys. All they think about is the purse instead of the development of his career. He’s [Haney] still a young man,” said Hearn.
It’s unlikely that Haney will accept any fight unless he’s paid a minimum of $4 million, and that’s for a tune-up job. If we’re talking about Paro, Alberto Puello, Mario Barrios, Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuelo, or Teofimo Lopez, it would likely be double that at $8 million+.
“If he gets the next move wrong, his career will be over because he won’t come back. He would have made his money. $15-20 million in the bank. Lovely, but that’s where you need the hunger. You need the right people around you to make the right decisions,” said Hearn.
The 140 and 147-lb divisions are littered with potential landmines that could blow up on Haney if he fights practically anyone in those weight classes. He got lucky when he moved up to 140 and fought the old and slow Regis Prograis for the WBC light welterweight title. If Haney were to fight the new WBC 140-lb champion Alberto Puello, he would potentially be in trouble.
“If you could make any fight for Devin Haney before the end of the year, what would you do?” said Mannix.
“I like the Paro fight because he’s arguably a favorite in that fight, but you don’t know how he’s going to come back after that Ryan Garcia performance,” said Hearn about Haney.
It’s no use for Hearn to talk about Paro as a potential fight for Haney because he’ll want a lot of money, and the IBF’s 10-lb rehydration limit would be too big of a hurdle. Unless the IBF chooses to waive that rule to make an exception for Haney, he wouldn’t be able to meet the requirement.
“He’s also not getting within that 10-lb rehydration clause [for Paro’s IBF 140-lb title]. That to me is crazy,” said Mannix.
“I would make a catchweight fight between 140 and 147, but you’ve got to make the right bit of matchmaking,” said Hearn about what he would like for Hearn. “Because then, if he’s not getting a lot of money, they’re not going to want to fight anyone dangerous. So, it’s a real difficult spot.”
Haney and his dad, Bill, would likely refuse to take a fight that wasn’t paying an enormous amount of money. He wasn’t willing to take a fight that would have paid well against Sandor Martin recently, and that’s about as weak as you can get and still put it on PPV.
