Bill Haney – Devin Haney’s father, trainer and manager – is predicting that his son will overtake Gervonta “Tank” Davis to become the unofficial “face of boxing” after, he says, Devin beats Ryan Garcia on Saturday.
Davis and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez have consistently been the top two draws in the United States over the past few years, and they have jockeyed for position to claim boxing’s top billing – at least on U.S. soil.
Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) is attempting to further catapult his career and star power by besting Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) in order to join the conversation.
“Gervonta Davis might be over with after this fight,” Bill Haney told BoxingScene.
“After we dismantle and beat up a healthy Ryan Garcia at 140 pounds and do some numbers, it might be over with for the former face of boxing, Tank Davis, who says that he can’t get the fight. How are you going to be the face of boxing and you can’t get the fight that you want? Devin has crossed platforms. We dealt with Stephen Espinoza at Showtime. We dealt with Eddie Hearn with Matchroom and DAZN. We dealt with Bob Arum and Top Rank and ESPN, and now we’re with Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy and DAZN.
“We did what it takes to make the [Garcia] fight happen. We broke down the myth that there were sides of the street. We do it for the people. The people put the target on their backs, and we delivered the fights.”
Haney-Garcia will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Davis has a strong track record at the venue, and Haney-Garcia will ultimately be compared to the big business Davis did there in his May 2022 knockout win over Rolando “Rolly” Romero. Additionally, David helped drive 1.2 million PPV buys and $22.8 million in ticket revenue for his own fight with Garcia last year.
“The [PPV numbers for Haney-Garcia] don’t have to be close to [Davis-Garcia],” said Bill Haney. “They have to beat the current numbers in 2024. We know the world of the fire sticks happen. We can’t judge the past. Let’s talk about and beat the 2024 numbers. If we beat any number in 2024, then that says Devin is the face of 2024. We don’t go on 2023.”
According to Davis promoter TGB, Davis-Romero was a sold-out show that broke the all-time gate record for a boxing match at the Barclays Center. The announced attendance of 18,970 also set a new record for boxing in the venue.
Haney-Garcia, meanwhile, has seen a lack of demand lead to price drops in tickets in recent weeks.
“Clearly whomever scaled their fight didn’t know what tf they were doing and it will ultimately cost the fighters a bunch of money,” Leonard Ellerbe, Davis’ promoter, recently posted to his X social media account – a reference to the light business Haney-Garcia has done thus far.
Haney agreed to a 55-45 revenue split in favor of Garcia for the gate, sponsorships and PPV percentages.
The heavily favored Haney is expected to beat the enigmatic Garcia and defend his junior welterweight title.
With Garcia as his dance partner, Haney should also improve on the subpar PPV figures from his fights against Vasiliy Lomachenko and Regis Prograis in 2023.
Whether or not the former undisputed lightweight champion Haney can lure Davis in for a dance after Garcia remains to be seen.
Although Davis has fought once before at 140 pounds, in 2021 against Mario Barrios, Tank insists he’s a 135-pound fighter.
“I don’t know [what’s going to stop a Haney-Davis fight from happening] because it wasn’t the money,” Bill Haney said. “I said there was $20 million on the table, [chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority] Turki Alalshikh said there was even more. He said, ‘Let’s talk about it.’ I think Tank said something about some Ferraris. His Excellency sent over some boxing gloves, and I haven’t heard anything from there.
“You can’t come in and talk the shit that I talk if you don’t have the best fighter in the world – Devin is special.
“So we’re going to move on and keep moving toward the Mount Rushmore of boxing. That means taking over the broadcasting networks, taking over the arenas and delivering the fights. We’ll let the attractions catch up if they want to catch up.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.