Has Money Ruined Haney And Garcia’s Careers?

Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney have been accused of losing their hunger, raising questions over whether their boxing purses have impacted their mindsets. 

Garcia and Haney recently secured some of the biggest purses in the sport, but have not shown the best form. They faced off against each other in April 2024 in a fight that captivated the boxing public. Garcia secured a majority decision win after he dropped Haney three times in a major upset. However, the result was overturned into a no-contest once Ryan failed VADA tests for Ostarine. The fight earned Garcia a reported $50 million, while Haney picked up an alleged $35 million. 

The fallout from that fight set up the narrative for an even bigger rematch, provided that they came through their next fights. Garcia faced Rolando Romero in a bout where he was expected to come through easily. Reports indicated that he secured a purse close to $20 million. The fight did not play out the way that he wanted, as Ryan was dropped in the second round. After that moment, he refused to engage with Romero as he lost a unanimous decision. 

Haney returned to face Jose Ramirez in his first fight since the Garcia no-contest. Reports indicated that he earned a $10 million purse. While Haney secured a unanimous decision win, his performance was heavily criticized. The fight was the fifth-lowest ever recorded on CompuBox in terms of punches landed. There were a total of 110 punches landed, with Haney landing 70, while Ramirez had 40. 

Hearn Reacts

Haney received a lot of backlash, especially since he had teamed up with Shane Mosley before the fight to increase his punching power. The Haney-Garcia rematch is not certain to take place, given that both their brands have been damaged from their previous performance. Eddie Hearn simply felt the two fighters had earned so much money that they were no longer in the right frame of mind to fight for legacy. 

“I think it’s impossible to have the same warrior mindset when you’ve made a load of money and now you live in that 10-bedroom house [Correction: mansion] and you’ve got three Ferraris. The [fighters] are like, I don’t really want a war. Why would I want a war? No, thank you. Ryan is a million miles away from fighting for a world title at the moment, especially coming off a defeat. He’s also making a lot of money. He’s thinking, ‘I’m good.’ You’ll probably see him disappear at some point. Go and do a bit of acting or chill out in California somewhere and just enjoy. “Sometimes, the game takes their love away.

“Ryan is probably in that spot where he’s like, ‘I’ve had so much s***. I don’t even like boxing anymore, but obviously, it’s great money. So, what’s next? Devin is there now. And Devin was never there. He was all about belts, all about achievements. Then I think the Ryan fight really disheartened him, the whole experience. And I think now, he just thinks, ‘I couldn’t care less about belts. Let me make my money, and then I’m done.’ That’s what makes you deteriorate as a fighter,” Hearn said