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Devin Haney was handed the first defeat of his professional career by longtime rival Ryan Garcia when the pair clash on April 20.
Having met in the ring on six occasions during their time as amateur boxers, the pair held three wins each ahead of their most recent clash in Brooklyn, New York.
Whilst 'The Dream' entered the bout as a heavy favorite, it was Garcia who walked away victorious after showcasing arguably the best performance of his career en route to a decision win.
The fight was initially scheduled as a WBC title fight, but 'KingRy' missed the super lightweight weight-limit by over three pounds, and the bout was rescheduled to a non-title fight.
This meant that despite his loss to Garcia, Haney remained the titleholder. His co-promoter Eddie Hearn recently discussed his potential next fight against the WBC mandatory challenger, Sandor Martin.
Although Hearn initially stated that a clash between 'The Dream' and Martin was not possible, the Matchroom Boxing chairman has since changed his stance. He said:
"The one blessing of Ryan missing the weight. So [Haney] is going to have to defend that title against Sandor Martin. I actually think that's a good fight, now. Before, I think if he would have dealt with Ryan Garcia with ease, people would have been saying that the Sandor Martin fight is probably not the fight... Devin will want to defend that title."
Watch Hearn discuss Devin Haney's next fight below from 1:50:
Devin Haney releases his first statement since losing to Ryan Garcia
Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia went to war over twelve rounds on April 20th to settle their long standing rivalry.
Ahead of the bout, many were concerned with the state of 'KingRy,' who had displayed some unusual behavior both online and at the pre-fight press conferences. Having discussed his use of alcohol and cannabis, as well as claiming to have been kidnapped, Garcia's antics led to the belief that he had little chance of beating the always-professional Haney.
In the aftermath of the fight, however, 'KingRy' has stated that his behavior was a ploy to get people, including his opponent, to believe that he was taking the fight less seriously than he actually was.
Following his first ever defeat, Haney took to Instagram to share a statement. An excerpt from the statement read:
"...Ryan, despite the circumstances was victorious that night and that’s fine. I do feel like weight played a role in it but only Allah knows. I would love to run it back and give the fans a FAIR fight within an agreed weight..."
See Devin Haney's full statement below:
