Devin Haney faces an uphill battle to convince some boxing fans he’s undefeated after losing to the now-suspended Ryan Garcia in April.
‘The Dream’ lost a majority decision after being dropped three times by Garcia, something he’s reminded of on the daily via social media. Responding to a post asking if Haney can reach Floyd Mayweather’s benchmark of 50-0 from his current standpoint of 31-0, detractors reacted by stating Haney has already lost.
One even pointed out that Haney had lost twice after his debated decision against Vasiliy Lomachenko a year earlier.
“He already lost twice,” said one. Another added, “No, he’s already lost to Ryan Garcia.”
A third stated, “Floyd never got knocked out in front of millions. Imagine if Floyd did get knocked out in front of millions. Fifty just wouldn’t be the same.”
Haney will dispute his losses as his record reads 31-0 on every statistics website. However, those question marks will remain until he returns to the ring.
Many see the multi-weight champion as damaged goods after the Garcia loss and have since questioned whether Haney can move up further in weight and carry his power. His current situation of losing weight and rehydrating to over 165 pounds also meets further resistance.
It seems Haney cannot win when it comes to convincing the fans of his undefeated record and ability until he fixes both problems. However, not even a rematch with Garcia at 147 pounds will stop some from believing Haney is 31-1.
He successfully lobbied for a no-contest after Garcia tested positive in a drug test. Therefore, he has the right to call himself unbeaten until another opponent ends the run legally.
Liam Paro will likely be next if negotiations can be concluded for another Team Haney trip to Australia. Haney can extend his record to 32-0 and pick up another title in the process.
Even then, claiming another belt won’t erase the memory of what Ryan Garcia did in New York. It could take a long time before that event becomes a distant memory.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
