Devin Haney briefly suffered the first loss of his career before the game was declared void.
It was about Ryan Garcia, who had worried his fans beforehand with his antics and competed at an overweight level, so that he was not eligible to win Haney’s WBC super lightweight title.
After agreeing to fight anyway, Garcia upset expectations by knocking down Haney three times en route to a majority decision victory, but was later suspended for a year after testing positive for a banned substance twice – once the day before the fight and once on the day itself.
Despite the disadvantages, Haney is about to make a comeback in which he will have to exorcise all his demons.
Speaking to Title Sports Network, former world champion and current analyst Tim Bradley said the 25-year-old should first fight at a lower level before turning his attention to WBO and Ring Magazine champion Teofimo Lopez.
“If I were Devin, if I was part of his team, I would tell him to face a top contender who is a little less of a challenge, just to get some confidence back. Get back in the ring, see how he feels, see if anything has changed. I would face a top 15 contender, get a win and then take on a big challenge. I wouldn’t mind seeing him and Teofimo Lopez.”
When asked for a prediction, Bradley said Lopez is the favorite, but Haney should not be written off if he and his training team can make corrections from the Garcia fight.
“You have to watch the film. The favorite is obviously Teo because he has the power and a left hook. Haney obviously couldn’t avoid Ryan Garcia’s left hook, so maybe he needs to go through it all again and get that sorted. I still think it’s a great fight, not just because of the names, but stylistically. Devin can box. He’s young and can hit back.”
Lopez is toying with the idea of moving back up a weight class, so his next fight could be at welterweight. Haney – now the WBC champion on hiatus – is in advanced talks about returning to Australia, where he was undisputed at lightweight, to face IBF 140 champion Liam Paro.
