Promoter Oscar De La Hoya said today that for Devin Haney to get the rematch with Ryan Garcia in October, he must win his May 2nd fight against Jose Ramirez on Turki Al-Sheikh’s card at Times Square in New York City.
Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) will be pressured to defeat the former WBC and WBO light welterweight champion Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) if what De La Hoya says is true. Coming off a beating against Garcia and a 13-month layoff, Devin might not be up to the task.
Rematch Hinges on Ramirez Fight
Unless Turki is willing to give Haney the fight against Ryan in October, regardless of what happens to him against Jose Ramirez, it sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
If Devin loses to Ramirez, fans won’t want to pay to see a Garcia-Haney rematch under those conditions. Haney’s 0-2 record in his last two fights would send the wrong message to fans and to other fighters.
If you’re Turki, you should forget about the rematch and focus on setting up a fight for Ryan against Gervonta Davis, Jaron Ennis, or Mario Barrios. Turki should wash his hands of Devin, forgetting about him completely, and focus on talented fighters who can compete with the best.
A lot of people got it wrong about Devin, making more of his wins at lightweight and forgetting about his controversial match against Vasily Lomachenko.
Haney had only fought once at 140, beating 35-year-old Regis Prograis, before getting blown out by Kingry last April. In other words, Devin hadn’t proved he could exist in the light welterweight division before being exposed by Ryan.
Going up against a former two-belt champion, Ramirez is going to be tough for Devin because the tricks that he used against Prograis, clinching, jabbing, and moving, won’t be as effective.
“Taking the rematch is a pretty risky move because if Devin loses to Ryan again, we can all wave goodbye to the Haneys. In order for Devin to get to that fight, he has to get by a tough and hungry Jose Ramirez in May. Watch out, Jose. If you hit him too hard, he might sue you next,” said Oscar De La Hoya during this week’s Clapback Thursdays, ripping Devin Haney a new one.
