By Chris Williams: Devin Haney is still in the damage control mode in making conciliatory-sounding statements to deflate the backlash he’s receiving from boxing fans after his recent racist comment.
This past week, WBC ‘Champion in Recess’ 135-pound belt-holder Haney (24-0, 15 KOs) said in an interview he would never lose to a white boy.
The comment from the 21-year-old Haney was ill-advised, and he’s been on the defense ever since trying to explain that he’s not a racist.
Earlier today, Haney took to social media to say that he’s had to “reflect,” and he says he “regrets” commenting and that he’s “learned a lesson.” While Haney didn’t apologize for his comment, he did say he “regrets” remarking.
For Haney’s sake, that’ll be enough to get the fans to forgive and forget. Moving forward, Haney will need to be more mindful when giving interviews in what comes out of his mouth so that he doesn’t continue anger fans.
DiBella: Haney is NOT a racist
‘First of all, I don’t think Devin Haney is a racist,” said Lou DiBella to IFL TV. “I’ve known him and his dad for a long time. I don’t think he’s a racist. I think he’s a really brash, overconfident young man. And I think he believes his s*** don’t stink, and he hasn’t been tested yet, and he’s got incredible confidence.
“I love the kid, and as a fighter, I don’t think he’s a bad kid. But when I watched the interview, I didn’t like the way he said it. There’s no need to bring race into it. It’s ill-advised, and the kid [Haney] is smart enough, and his father is smart enough, he said. He didn’t apologize. He said, ‘I’m not a racist,’ and I believe him.
“But if I were him, I would stay away from those f**** comments. They’re not positive, and they don’t bring good feelings among people. They’re just decisive, and they’re not necessary. It’s unnecessary. I’m not going to slam him. He’s a young kid. I think with the kid, he believes ‘with my whole game, I’m unlikely to lose to a white fighter. But there’s no need to say those kinds of things.
“There aren’t a lot of white fighters out there who can beat Devin Haney, and there aren’t a lot of black fighters out there and Latin fighters out there that can beat Devin Haney. I think if you went through the hardest fights for him in boxing, I think you’d probably find a spectrum.
“And Lomachenko is a hard fight for anybody. Lomachenko’s footwork [is exceptional]. Even if you’re labeling Lomachenko as the stereotype of a white fighter,” said DiBella.
Haney is a young kid, and who knows what he thought when he commented? It’s one thing for a fighter to believe the things Haney said, and another thing to voice it out loud. There’s no tolerance for those types of comments, and he’ll need to monitor his thoughts before he speaks.
❤️#TheDream pic.twitter.com/dW7dqRE0f5
— Devin Haney (@Realdevinhaney) April 21, 2020
Racial comments shouldn’t be part of a promotion
“What’s the stereotype of a white fighter? It’s Mickey Ward,” said DiBella. “It’s the warrior Rocky Graziano. But Lomachenko is a superb athlete with superb footwork. He’s the stereotype of nothing. And why are we stereotyping each other anyway, particularly now?
“Even if Haney isn’t a bad guy, and he’s not a racist. He’s not, OK? We’re all going through this bull s*** right now, and no one wants to overreact a little bit. We’re all bored and sitting around. No one wants to listen to someone that is a little bit like an a–hole right now for no reason, and there was sort of no reason to say it.
“Even if you believe it, there was no reason to say it. We all got to try and not get under each other’s skins for no reason, and not try and fire some s*** up. The racial s*** shouldn’t be a part of a promotion. No one can say race doesn’t matter. We look white, and someone looks brown, black, or tan or whatever.
“There are a lot of miserable, f*** wretched people in the world. I don’t have to worry about getting a taxicab in New York late at night. He [Haney] did something stupid. He didn’t do something racist or something stupid. I think he said something stupid. And I hope that he leaves race out of it in the future, but it’s overblown,” said DiBella.
It would be forlorn if Haney’s comments were made out of a need for him to attract attention to himself. Unless Haney is trying to turn himself into a villain-like character to get boxing fans to root against him, he’ll need to be careful what he says.
Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder 3 WILL happen
“There’s going to be a Fury-Wilder fight at some point,” said DiBella. “It makes commercial sense. Deontay has had surgery and had an injury from what I read. I have no propriety information. He’s going to use this time to heal, and change his corner or add people to his corner.
“I’m glad to hear that Mark Breland is still there, and I think he’s going to try and be better for his next fight, whenever that happens. Could that fight be on a pay-per-view in an empty room? Who knows? Anything is possible. But I think that fight is going to happen. He had a contract, and he exercised his rematch.
“Fury is going to get paid a lot of money against a guy that he feels pretty comfortable that he beats. And Deontay wants his reputation back and his belts back. I don’t see anybody taking step aside money in an environment where there are no tickets for sale.
“Oh yeah, they’re going to take step aside money for them to go fight a fight in Dubai or Saudi Arabia or fight the fight with social distancing or no normal crowd? No, it’s not happening right now,” said DiBella.
The good news is that Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury is a fight that can take place anywhere in the world. It’s a big enough match to where they can stage it in a country that is willing to pay the most money.
Wilder would prefer it to take place in the U.S, but if the promoters receive a huge site fee to take it overseas, that’s where it will end up.
Wilder’s bicep injury needs to heal and will need to go through physical therapy before he can begin training again in a serious way.
Boxing will return with smaller fights initially
“The fights that come back will be the most economically feasible,” said DiBella. “You’re coming back with no revenue stream, and you’re going to have to pay more money to stage a fight in front of nobody.
“You’re going to lose all those revenue streams, and the fighters aren’t going to want to readjust their pay scale by gigantic percentages. There’s going to be resistance at first with readjusting money.
Some of the fights that you’re going to see come back first are going to be the cost-effective ones. A Selby-Kombosos is not a super expensive fight, and a Prograis-Hooker fight, not a Canelo fight.
“There are fights that are less damaged by not being played out in front of an audience or less damaged by losing those revenue streams,” said DiBella.
The more prominent name fighters will likely be resistant to the idea of taking a pay cut to fight in front of an empty room when boxing restarts. DiBella is right that the smaller fights will be the ones that are staged once the sport restarts.
Although the top promoters like Bob Arum, Oscar De La Hoya, and Eddie Hearn would prefer to have their stars fight immediately when the lockdown ends, it’s not likely to happen. Their A-list stars are going to want to continue to make the kind of money they did in the past, and they won’t likely be agreeable to getting less money for the same amount of risk.