Former WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis doesn't blame Devin Haney for vacating his title rather than taking the mandatory low-reward, high-risk fight with Sandor Martin.
Haney's downfall wasn't drugs, it was the left hook
Prograis said Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) wants a big fight but wouldn't get one if he faces Sander, who would have been a tough opponent for Haney. Prograis believes a rematch with Ryan Garcia, who beat him by 12-round decision on April 20, would be better for Haney.
Prograis said the Ostarine for which Ryan tested positive was not the reason Haney lost the fight, and that he believed it was Haney getting hit with multiple left hooks that caused the loss, and had nothing to do with any substances that were in Ryan's system.
Haney's weight complaints are ironic
Regis finds it ironic that while Haney has complained about Ryan being too heavy, Haney himself weighed in at 140 pounds for the fight at Chase Center in San Francisco on December 9, then rehydrated and worked his way back up to 160 pounds.
“I've heard him say, 'boxing is dirty,' and it's only dirty when it happens to you,” Regis Prograis of Mill City Boxing said of Devin Haney. “I don't know what he's going to do. I know he wants a big name. I know he wants a big fight, but he'll have to find out for himself who that is.”
Haney and his father, Bill, have made careers out of constantly complaining about Ryan's positive tests and indirectly gaining fame, and by talking about it so publicly, Haney has kept his name in the spotlight.
“I think it's a combination of both. I don't think he's afraid of Sander Martin, but it's not like there's zero reward. It's a risk versus reward thing,” Prograis said, explaining why Haney vacated his WBC light welterweight title.
Most would agree that Sandor Martin would have been a nightmare for Haney and Ryan knocking him out would have finished what he started. A loss to Sandor would have been the end of the Haney name. Haney is still useful as a trial horse and opponent for up and coming horses, but you can forget about PPV.
A rematch with Garcia would make sense
“If I were him I would do the same thing, the money is low, fighting Sander Martin is very low reward for very high risk. [Haney] “Haney can probably do something else, that's why he's giving it up,” Prograis said, saying Haney was right to give up his WBC light welterweight belt to avoid Thunder.
It would make sense if Haney and Bill could convince Ryan to give the rematch, but if that doesn't happen, they'll try to arrange the bout with someone else and ultimately agree to a challenger for either IBF 140-pound champion Liam Paro or WBO champion Teofimo Lopez.
“That makes more sense. [to rematch Ryan]”Whatever was in him, it didn't help the fight. Ryan did the same thing he did to me, that's my opinion,” Prograis said, adding that he believes Ryan ruined Haney in the same way he did when Devin rehydrated and moved up to the 160-pound range for their fight last December.
