Devin Haney’s dad, Bill Haney, took to social media to refute promoter Oscar De La Hoya’s comments about Devin not being able to sell.
Bill didn’t discuss Haney’s PPV numbers for his fight against Regis Prograis last December on DAZN, which were rumored to have brought in 50 to 60K, and were considered a disaster.
Bill did say that Haney draws crowds for his fights in San Francisco, New York, and Australia. However, there were rumors of complimentary tickets being given out for Haney’s fight in his hometown of San Francisco for his title challenge against Prograis.
Ticket Sales vs. PPV Buys
Selling tickets is a different thing entirely from bringing in PPV buys. A fighter can sell tickets but that only means they have fans in that area in the U.S or elsewhere.
The real gauge of whether a fighter is popular is their PPV numbers, and Haney’s were rumored to be dreadful for the Prograis fight.
The PPV numbers for Haney’s fight against Ryan and Garcia have yet to be announced; if they’re good, Haney can’t take credit for them because Ryan has a huge 12 million followers on Instagram. You have to attribute the success of their PPV fight on DAZN solely to Ryan while Haney came along for the ride.
Without Ryan working tirelessly, giving interviews, and posting like a maniac on social media, his fight with Haney would have bombed on PPV because he was the main draw. Bill, with his natural charisma, was doing the talking. Devin’s interviews were like listening to a private school kid discussing calculus.
“We’re back before the Ryan Garcia fight. We’re looking it,” said Bill Haney to MillCity Boxing when asked where does Devin Haney go now. “He’s [Devin] been two-division world champion at 25. He did all this under 25.”
When asked where his son, Devin, was going now, Bill looked like a deer caught in the headlights, and he clearly had no clue. Haney is in a tough spot without Ryan Garcia, and he’s making things worse for himself by having mixed priorities: wanting a rematch and also thinking he’s going to sue. These two things oppose each other. How is Haney going to get a rematch if he burns his bridges with Ryan by suing?
“We’re looking [at which direction to go], but we hear Oscar De La Hoya say something about we don’t sell. The last time I checked, I don’t know how many arenas,” said Bill.
“When we looked at the Barclays [in Brooklyn, New York], there were a lot of brothers up in there. There were a lot of people that look like us that was up in there that came out to support. We did the Bay Area [San Francisco, California] and Las Vegas, Australia,” said Bill.
George Kambosos Jr. is the reason why Haney’s fights in Australia sold tickets, and Bill can’t begin to take credit for that. Kambosos talked his way into selling all those tickets with his self-promotion, and both fights were boring, clinch-filled contests.
“So, that narrative [by De La Hoya], coming out, saying that we don’t sell. That’s some bull s***. Do you know what I mean? Any of the narratives that are pushing fake narratives are only pushing boxing back but not forwards, but we’re here to stay. If I knew the move that Dev was going to do next, it wouldn’t be my job to announce it.
Haney’s Stance on PEDs
“There should nobody getting in the ring with PEDs, and if you get into the ring on PEDs, you will be violated. You will be publicly shamed. I don’t care nothing about what the team and what the dad is coming on saying.
“It’s wrong, and you have to pay inside the ring and outside the ring,” said Bill Haney about his son’s intention to sue Ryan Garcia and get a rematch, too.
If Bill and Devin are still harping on Ryan’s positive PED tests despite him being banned for a year and fined, they shouldn’t be banging the drum for a rematch. Why are they pushing for a rematch so hard if they’re upset about Ryan testing positive for PEDs?
You would think that they would want to avoid Ryan permanently after that. Could it be that they’re only thinking about money and that they can’t sell on their own without him?
