Author: Sean Crose

Without a doubt, it was a world-class beating. The popular but not very star-studded Ryan Garcia thoroughly crushed the immensely talented and lauded Devin Haney last spring in a pay per view event that rocked the boxing world. Then news came that Garcia had the banned substance ostarine in his system around the time of the fight. So much for the victory of life. Garcia was stripped of his victory and suspended by the Up-to-date York State Athletic Commission (the fight with Haney took place at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn). Considering the fact that Garcia’s behavior before the fight was quite strange, it all seemed like a strange ending to a very strange case.

However, today the world is learning that this story is still ongoing. Haney’s Friday report said that “the 25-year-old boxer filed a lawsuit Friday against his nemesis in Up-to-date York… alleging that Garcia committed battery and fraud in the lead-up to — and during — their massive April 20 show at the Barclays Center.” However, Garcia is not the only person sued, as California promotional shop Golden Boy Promotions is also in court. According to Haney (via ), the Garcia fiasco led to “physical injuries, reputational damage that will amount to millions of dollars, and emotional and mental distress.”

Perhaps surprisingly, Garcia saw himself as a victim when the Up-to-date York State Athletic Commission ruled against him. “They took away my victory,” the fighter known as King Ry claimed on social media. “Okay, I’m retired, I’ll come back next year.” But on Friday, the controversial star looked reserved and at least a little dazed. “There are no words,” he wrote on Friday afternoon. Time will tell whether Haney will have a figurative leg to stand on in court.

Garcia, on the other hand, will likely have the fight of his life – albeit outside the ring. In fact, Garcia became a controversial figure due to the sometimes shocking comments he made before the Haney fight. The fact that he sometimes seemed less focused before a fight also raised eyebrows. With this in mind, it’s worth considering whether the damage Garcia caused to Haney (and he certainly did) was profound enough to warrant a lawsuit. Haney’s actions may have surprised the fighting world, but there is no doubt that boxing is the most perilous of sports – and may be even more perilous thanks to the exploit of banned substances.

A heated back-and-forth before a fight is every promoter’s dream, especially if the fighters have a history, someone has something to prove, or there’s a belt on the line. With Sandy Ryan and Mikaela Mayer, all of this is happening.

Mayer has made no secret of the fact that her feud with WBO welterweight champion Ryan is deeply personal. It’s about the coaching staff, a bitter war of words, and on September 27 at Madison Square Garden, the gigantic fight for Ryan’s belt (Live on ESPN, 10:30 p.m. ET.).

Ryan (7-1-1 3 KO) began working full-time under the tutelage of “Coach Kay” (Kay Koroma) and Flick Savoy following her fight with Jessica McCaskill in September 2023. Mayer (19-2 5 KO), who trained with Koroma felt betrayed for almost a decade.

According to Mayer, she wanted to move up from lightweight, both were on track to fight, and Ryan’s appearance in that fight was unacceptable. The city wasn’t gigantic enough for the two of them.

Mayer left trainer Kaya to train under Kofi Jantuah following her loss to IBF welterweight champion Natasha Jonas in January. The fight with Ryan was announced in August. Since then, there has been tension between them, to say the least.

“I have a fight with Jonas and [told] Coach Kay: “Sandy can’t come back here anymore…” [jokingly] and I thought he would totally agree with that,” Mayer told ESPN.

“He tells me I’m on my way to Jonas’ fight [he’s] bringing Sandy. I kind of turned on him and thought, “Why would you invite my competition?”

“He says, ‘No, [I’ll] give it to her [Savoy].’ There was no transparency. I called Sandy and she admitted that Kay trained her. I told him, “I don’t like it.” Nobody was forthright with me.”

The consequences were made public and Mayer had no problem contacting Ryan, who she said was “sneaky.”

“I think he is a weak-minded person and I have heard certain things in the past: [that] no one even likes her in the UK… That’s why she had to come to my country with my coaches,” Mayer said.

For her part, Ryan says she doesn’t care and has reached out to Mayer to squash any beef. It didn’t go very well.

“I have known Kay for years, dating back to my amateur days when I was on Team GB,” Ryan told ESPN. “I had a change in the team and Kay was there to support me and said, ‘I can give you the team and Flick can be your coach here.’ [America]’ and that’s how it went. I reached out because people were telling me at the gym that Mikaela Mayer wasn’t content.

“Who does she think she is? She thinks the world owes her everything, but it doesn’t.

“Since then, and since I was training in America, she has been calling me names. She was just pissed. So now we are here and we have to silence her.”

The two will meet in Modern York and settle their dispute in the ring. Ryan wants to retain the belt, while Mayer wants to recover from his loss to Jonas. It has all the makings of an explosive competition.

“I expect Sandy to keep pushing forward,” Mayer said. I know she just wants to knock me out. She will try to sit on her punches and knock me out, and that will be her downfall. I will box, move and pick it like I have always done, even in my amateur days.”

Ryan also expects a tough matchup.

“I expect Mikaela Mayer to be good because she is a good player and you can’t take away from her what she has achieved in this sport. You can’t expect anything less, otherwise you’d miss your opponent, and I don’t do that,” Ryan said. “That’s why I respect her for what she has achieved in this sport [but] I don’t respect her as a human being.”

Devin Haney’s dad, Bill Haney, claims his son is the “face of boxing” and they are going after Ryan Garcia for using PEDs during their fight scheduled for April 20 “for the good of the sport.”

It’s unclear whose idea it was for Haney to sue Ryan, but the move will likely backfire and provide no significant benefit. If this was done with the intention of getting more money on top of a revenge match, it may not work. If Ryan becomes bitter about being sued, will he throw Haney a bone by giving him a rematch? I don’t see it.

For all intents and purposes, the lawsuit is Haney’s revenge because he could have shot himself in the foot by choosing the legal route. I see it as an either/or situation. Either retaliate or file a lawsuit, but you can’t have both. This is short-sighted.

If the money Haney receives for his lawsuit is more than he would receive in a rematch, maybe it will be worth it to him, but maybe not. I wonder how much Haney wants to get for the lawsuit. 10 million dollars? This doesn’t seem well thought out.

However, the popularity of the fan reaction to Haney’s lawsuit makes this a waste of time because this is more significant.

Bill Haney’s comments in his Boxingscene interview about Devin being the “face of boxing” are demanding to swallow. To cast this type of talent, you have to entertain and produce results, and his fighting style is not fan-friendly.

Essentially, Haney is a Shakur-style finesse and lithe punch fighter who jabs, holds and moves. There are plenty of these types of fighters in the sport, especially when, like him, they are often in clinches.

On Friday, Haney filed a lawsuit against Ryan Garcia for alleged battery, fraud and unjust enrichment in connection with their April fight, a move that could do much more damage to his popularity than the loss to Ryan.

Devin’s loss to Ryan, his questionable victory over Vasily Lomachenko and his fight against Jorge Linares showed that he is not even close to being a top contender. He is seen as the fighter who defeated George Kambosos Jr, a frail three-belt champion, and the faded 35-year-old Regis Prograis.

Haney is not seen as the face of the sport after his performance against Ryan, when he was beaten and seemingly saved by the referee in round seven. Devin had his 15 minutes of fame as a short-lived champion at 135 and 140, but that moment has passed.

When he returns to the ring, he will likely move up to 147 pounds because he has become too massive for the 140-pound division. It’s going to be tough for Haney in the welterweight division because everyone punches demanding and will be going after a fighter who doesn’t punch and has a history of injuries.

The welterweight sharks will be waiting for Haney when he moves up, and that could be bad for him. That’s why it’s confusing that by filing a lawsuit, he’s spoiling this mega-payment he could have gotten in a rematch with Ryan. This doesn’t make sense.