By Norm Frauenheim
Devin Haney finds himself in two courts.
A court of law.
And the court of public opinion.
Where you won’t find him — at least for now — is in the ring.
Location, location, location. They’re impossible to untangle in an unforgiving craft that, fair or not, demands that disputes are settled in the ring instead of a court of law. That leaves Haney in a place where he can only lose.
The court of pubic opinion, a chaotic collection of ungovernable jurors gathered on various social-media platforms, are mocking and condemning Haney for suing Ryan Garcia for battery and fraud in the infamous April 20 New York fight that often looked like an accident.
Haney was knocked down three times by a much-bigger Garcia, who blew off making weight — 140 pounds, mocked the ceremonial part of a staged weigh-in by apparently drinking a beer on the scale, tested positive for performance-enhancer ostarine and then denied it by alleging he was the victim of a conspiracy.
For now, at least, Garcia’s apparent edge in the court of public opinion Is a simple matter of numbers. Garcia, still serving a one-year suspension, has followers that only Gallup can count.
He’s also good at stirring up his followers with scenes that were defined by that bottle of beer on the ceremonial scale last April. His followers just want entertainment, the next act in outragetainent. Expect Garcia to deliver.
Haney and his trainer/father, Bill, want a judgement, a verdict in their favor for what that they believe damaged pound-for-pound aspirations. Maybe, it did. But that’s up to a jury, if it ever that gets that far.
From this corner, I’m willing to give Haney and his father their day in court on an issue that involves more than just Garcia and his apparent contempt for the ring craft and the rules that govern it.
But their timing is lousy. The laborious legal process will take its course. But forget the docket. Devin Haney is still a fighter, meaning he’s only as good as his next fight. He needs to get beyond that long night against Garcia.
The scorecard loss, a majority decision, was erased from his record, still unbeaten. But the nightmare is still there. He’ll have to wait on a chance to deliver evidence in a courtroom. But it’s time he begins to deliver evidence in the ring. Until he does, that court of public opinion will view him as a plaintiff instead of a prize fighter
It’s time, past-time, for Haney to resume his career in the first step toward silencing the social-media mob, currently led by Gracia promoter Oscar De La Hoya, who this week called Haney “a shot fighter.”
For now, Haney’s burden is to prove De La Hoya wrong. For now, he can only do that by answering another opening bell.
NOTES
Phoenix makeweight Elijah Garcia is training in Las Vegas at Bob Santos’ gym since his split decision loss to Kyrone Davis in a middleweight fight June 15 in Las Vegas. Garcia missed weight before suffering his only loss in 17 bouts. The 21-year-old prospect is expected to be at super-middleweight when he fights to get his promising career back on track, perhaps in December.
Terence Crawford said no to a two-fight deal with mixed-martial-arts celebrity Conor McGregor, according to multiple reports. The deal was reported to be for two bouts — one boxing and the other MMA. The money was huge. “Hundreds of millions,’’ McGregor told Duelbits in a live-stream interview. But Crawford, a former amateur wrestler, has been a boxer throughout his brilliant pro career. The MMA venture would have been more spectacle than craft for Crawford, perhaps the ring’s most masterful craftsman since the 1980s. For Crawford’s decision, one word: Thanks.
