Man…If anybody needs a smart, savvy public relations person, it’s Devin Haney. I mean, the kid really, REALLY needs someone to guide him through public life.
It’s not like he’s a Teofimo Lopez, who spews silly verbiage with an undercurrent of racism. And he definitely isn’t Ryan Garcia, who ADD-wanders the spectrum from bat-shit craziness to overt racism. He isn’t even Terence Crawford, who comes off as bitter and stubborn outside the ring as he is skilled and talented inside it.
No, Devin Haney just comes off as weak in a “Daddy’s favorite, life-protected” kind of way.
But in the rough and tough world of big-time prizefighting, it’s almost worst to be see in that light than to be viewed as a bullshit-spewing racist.
There are many examples of Haney coming off as soft in public. We could go deep into detail, but some of the “Best Of” highlights range from his refusal to be in the Undisputed boxing video game because they wouldn’t put him on the cover to his self-posted public dance-celebrating at the NYSAC turning his loss to Ryan Garcia into a No Contest. There’s also been a ton of tough-guy posturing over the years that comes off as play-acting.
His recent lawsuit against Ryan Garcia, although the right thing to do in a big picture/real world sense, has cost him a lot of boxing street cred among fellow fighters.
Most recently, the 25-year-old Haney took to Twitter to jab at his critics by sharing a video where Artur Beterbiev named him no. 5 on his personal pound-for-pound list.
“But these twitter trolls know more than Beterbiev right? I will be #1 P4P InshaAllah,” Haney tweeted, not realizing just how cringey that made him sound.
But these twitter trolls know more than Beterbiev right? I will be #1 P4P InshaAllah https://t.co/7DKHzfQzLW
— Devin Haney (@Realdevinhaney) October 14, 2024
I mean, again, none of this is as bad as Ryan Garcia’s “F*ck all nig**rs and F*ck all muslims.” But, in boxing circles, it’s almost preferable to be hard in disgrace than soft to any degree. Haney continually comes off as soft with the way he presents himself in public and he comes off as especially soft standing a full step behind his loud, overbearing father/manager, Bill Haney, who is fighting for his son, but, also, comes off like he’s fighting THROUGH his son.
Don’t get me wrong, Devin Haney has done a lot that is admirable in the sport. His willingness to gamble on himself in signing on to an unfavorable deal to get his crack at the lightweight titles should serve as an example to all young fighters.
But he’s often been his own worst enemy when it comes to how he portrays himself to the public.
Get the kid a proper publicist, ASAP.
Paul Magno has over forty years of experience in and around the sport of boxing and has had his hand in everything from officiating to training. As a writer, his work has appeared on Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, Fight Hype, Max Boxing, Boxing.com, Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules, Overtime Heroics, Bleacher Report, and Premier Boxing Champions. He is currently the owner and managing editor or The Boxing Tribune. You can follow his Twitter/X account, @boxing_tribune, for breaking boxing news, analysis, and sometimes NSFW commentary. For Advertising, Inquiries, etc., send him an email here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com