By Norm Frauenheim –
Devin Haney says he’s ready to come back, re-enter the ring in a year that continues to unfold amid surprises, some new faces, new money and a lot of the usual suspects.
A lot has changed. Boots Ennis is at the top of the welterweight division, yet still waiting for a defining fight while former 147-pound champion Terence Crawford moves on in an ongoing bid to go up scale, both in weight and wages.
A lot hasn’t changed. Ask David Benavidez. He still hasn’t fought Canelo Alvarez.
Where it’s headed isn’t clear. Then again, it never is. Too often, boxing’s calendar and hierarchy are dictated more by cheap shots than genuine drama, of which there’s been plenty. A week ago, Vergil Ortiz’ narrow decision over Serhii Boachuk provided Fight-of-the-Year action. On the same day, Angelo Leo delivered what might have been the Knockout of the Year with a one-punch stoppage of Luis Alberto Lopez. In late June, Jesse “Bam’’ Rodriguez stopped Juan Francisco Estrada in a Super-Fly fight in Phoenix that was a classic exhibition of world-class skill.
Those skills pay the bills. At least, they’re supposed to. But it’s an old-school line, one forever altered by social media. These days, controversy — multiplied and amplified by the many platforms — sells the pay-per-view.
Haney was there, caught in a pivotal role in what surely figures to be the biggest controversy this year or any other. He got steamrolled in New York on April 20 by Ryan Garcia, who blew off weight, appeared to chug a beer before he stepped on the scale, scored three knockdowns, tested positive for a banned substance, got suspended, countered allegations with conspiracy theories and kept the internet in a virtual uproar for months.
It was noisy, often ugly. But it sold, reportedly enough for Garcia to collect $50 million and Haney $35 million. That’s life-changing money. But for Haney, at least, there’s apparently more than $that. He wants to resume his pursuit of an enduring legacy, his own pound-for-pound chapter.
That, at least, had to be the motivation for a social-media post last week.
“Bout time I came back,’’ Haney posted on X, formerly Twitter.
He got an immediate response from boxing’s new money man, Saudi Prince Turki Alalshikh.
‘’Waiting for you in Riyadh,’’ the Prince and Promoter posted.
Alalshikh’s post, accentuated by his access to money, prompted another response, this one from Garcia, who is under a New York-ordered suspension for a year.
Garcia re-surfaced on X, posting: “We can set that up in riyadh if you would like Mr Turki I will do all you ask including drug testing everyday So please if you can make it happen.’’
No posted response from Alalshikh or Haney. No surprise about that. Alalshikh is trying to do business in the United States. He just promoted Crawford’s debut victory at junior middleweight over Israil Madrimov in Los Angeles. He’s not going to interfere with a suspension ordered by a state regulatory agency.
Meanwhile, it’s fair to say that Haney — whose lone loss was changed to no-contest because of the positive PED test — wants nothing more to do with Garcia.
For now, Haney just wants to fight. Question is: At what weight? Will he come back at 140 pounds? Or will he go to welterweight in a jump that could lead to an intriguing date with Ennis? No matter what the weight, Haney’s first fight back will be a test of who he is after the wild, concussive beatdown administered by the bigger Garcia. Did Garcia take something from him?
In a crazy year full of questions, that one begs for an answer.
NOTES
Crawford’s decision over Madrimov in his junior-middleweight bout in Los Angeles on August 3 snapped a streak of 11 stoppages. Then, it was something of a surprise, especially against a fighter known more for his long amateur career than his pro resume. But Madrimov knew what he was doing. He’s from Uzbekistan, the world’s new power in amateur boxing. Uzbekistan won five gold medals, the most in Olympic men’s boxing, at the Paris Games, which ended last weekend.
And there’s talk of a Bam-Estrada rematch at the end of this year. Estrada had a rematch clause in his contract. After Bam got up from a knockdown and scored a seventh-round stoppage of Estrada on June 29 at Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix, Estrada said he planned to exercise it.
