On May 2 in Times Square, New York City, Devin Haney (32-0, 15 KOs) made his return to the ring following his devastating, controversial loss to Ryan Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs) last year. Haney was comprehensively beaten, but it was later revealed that “Kingry” had failed a VADA pre-fight and post-fight drug test, with Ostarine found in his urine. Has was unbelievably vilified by many for his subsequently launched lawsuit and criticism of Garcia. Many doubted whether “The Dream” would step foot in a ring again, and he did in New York City, defeating Jose Ramirez (29-3, 18 KOs) by unanimous decision, with the judges’ scorecards reading 119-109 x2 and 118-110.
Devin Haney Silences Critics with May 2 Victory
Bill Haney Praises Devin Haney Following Comeback Victory
Haney-Ramirez wasn’t much of a spectacle, but it was a vital win for “The Dream.” It’s difficult to recap this fight with how low the output was. Haney spent much of the fight on the back foot, looking to avoid a potential left hook from Ramirez. When he did plant his feet and let his hands go, he looked good, but it was too few and far between.
Despite the low output from Haney, Ramirez threw less and looked like his timing was completely gone. Haney seemed relieved after the win, but the criticism came quickly. His Dad, trainer and confidant appeared on the Ariel Helwani show and was asked about his son’s performance on May 2 in Times Square: “I loved it because we shut down the critics, to say that if we don’t wanna get hit with a hook, you’re gonna take it home with you, said Bill Haney.
“It’s gonna stay in the trunk. If we don’t wanna get hit with a right hand, we’re not gonna, that’s boxing. That’s the way boxing…that’s old school. You handicap a fighter. And you got to see at 26 another dimension in Devin’s game.”
“And I’ll tell you one thing, Ariel, they’re even more intimidated. Yeah, you’ll call him boring, but you don’t call him easy. You say a lot of s**t about him, but you don’t call him a loser,” added Haney Sr.
Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia 2
After Garcia’s defeat and the underwhelming win for Haney, many have asked if we really need to see Haney-Garcia 2. Bill addressed these rumours on the Helwani show: “It didn’t affect the way that we look at him… We’ve spent time negotiating that fight and for all intents and purposes, we believe that that’s the next fight,” said Bill Haney.
It remains unclear if we will see the rematch, as Dan Rafael has revealed via his Fight Freaks Unite substack that Turki Alalshikh has spoken about the potential rematch: We need to see the condition of Garcia,” said Alalshikh. “Maybe we will delete (the rematch) and do a small fight for him. It will be clear in two weeks.”
