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Devin Haney once talked about how boxing should learn from MMA and not focus on undefeated records.
Last Saturday represented a significant setback for Haney's boxing career, as Ryan Garcia knocked him down three times before winning by majority decision. 'The Dream' had his professional record dropped to 31-1, which would be highly impressive in MMA, but boxing is a different sport.
Ever since Floyd Mayweather Jr retired with a 50-0 record, there's been added importance for professional boxers to remain undefeated. Before enduring his first defeat, Haney did an interview in May 2023 and had this to say about the difference between losing in "The Sweet Science" and MMA:
"[In] the UFC, those guys fight each other, lose, fight again and [are] still equally as big, may even be bigger after a loss. Look at Israel Adesanya, he came back, lost, and is even bigger than he was before."
Haney continued:
"Floyd [Mayweather] kinda messed up the game with the undefeated record and undefeated is everything, so guys don't wanna fight each other they wanna keep their 0."
Devin Haney was talking about Israel Adesanya's two-fight series against Alex Pereira in the octagon. Pereira became the middleweight champion with a fifth-round standing TKO in November 2022 before Adesanya avenged the defeat five months later to regain his throne.
Adesanya is now in a similar position, as he suffered a shocking unanimous decision defeat against Sean Strickland in September 2023. 'The Last Stylebender' could have an opportunity to bounce back once again in a few months, as he's rumored to be facing middleweight king Dricus du Plessis.
What's next for Devin Haney in the boxing ring?
One primary positive came out of Devin Haney's loss against Ryan Garcia. 'King Ryan' missed weight by three pounds, making him ineligible to win Haney's WBC super lightweight world title. Instead of vacating the throne, the sanctioning body decided to leave 'The Dream' as the champion.
It's unclear if Garcia can make the 140-pound limit moving forward, creating doubt for an instant rematch between him and Haney.
Therefore, the reigning WBC super lightweight king has several options for his next fight, including mandatory challenger Sandor Martin, Pitbull Cruz, or a rematch between the winner of George Kambosos Jr and Vasiliy Lomachenko.
