Devin Haney was celebrating a storm tonight, reacting to the New York State Athletic Commission handing down a one-year ban to Ryan Garcia as part of the settlement for his positive drug tests.
Record Restored, But Victory Hollow
On social media, Haney posted a clip of him dancing in celebration and asking fans where are the ones wanting his record to be changed back to 31-1.
Haney had his loss overturned as part of the New York Commission’s ruling, declaring the fight a no-contest, diving back his 31-0 record, which he values.
No Rematch, No Payday
It’s not a victory in the true sense for Haney because the defeat still stands in the eyes of the boxing public, and he loses out on a chance for a rematch with Ryan Garcia due to his one-year ban.
That’s the biggest payday for Haney by a long shot. There are no other fighters that he can fight that will provide him the kind of dough that he can make fighting Ryan.
The other fighters that Haney can fight will bring him chump change compared to the huge windfall he got from his fight with Ryan. So, there is no victory for Haney with Ryan’s one-year ban. That’s a big-time loss, and he should be weeping if he had any sense of understanding.
Haney says he will be inactive for a year, and who knows what that’s about. He’ll give up his WBA 140-lb title rather than defend against his mandatory Sandor Martin, for whom Top Rank won the purse bid this week.
Garcia’s Short Ban, Potential Fights Abroad?
The New York Commission could have given Ryan a longer ban, but they went with a relatively short one of a year. It’s unclear whether the ban starts today or if it dates back to April.
Ryan will still be in demand by countries outside of the U.S during the next year, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he fights in Saudi Arabia or Abu Dhabi.
Since Ryan doesn’t care about fighting for world titles, the sanctioning bodies and commissions can do nothing to stop him from earning a living in the Middle East during the next year.
They won’t be happy about that, but Ryan doesn’t care about belts, so the commissions and sanctioning bodies would be powerless to stop him. It would be up to the networks to refuse to broadcast his fights, but would they do that when there’s so much money at stake?
