Devin Haney's next WBC title challenger determined, purse bids set for June
Devin Haney recently suffered the first loss of his professional career, an unexpected majority decision defeat at the hands of Ryan Garcia on April 20. The bout was initially set as a WBC super lightweight title bout, but Garcia's weight miss meant that the title was ineligible.
'The Dream' has not called out his next opponent since the defeat, but the WBC sanctioning body have officially ordered him to defend his title against the super lightweight mandatory challenger, Sandor Martin.
Haney's co-promoter, Eddie Hearn, shared his disinterest in a fight with Martin prior to his client's fight with 'KingRy'. Hearn cited the lack of pay-per-view power behind the potential matchup as the main reason for his lack of keenness.
But the WBC champion disagreed with the Matchroom Boxing chairman soon after, and welcomed all challengers at 140 pounds, with his eyes set on becoming an undisputed champion at super lightweight.
News of the WBC's order was first broken by Mundo Deportivo, with talkSPORT boxing editor Michael Benson reposting the news on X, writing this:
"The WBC have now officially ordered Devin Haney to defend his WBC super-lightweight world title vs. Sandor Martin next. Purse bids on June 18th."
See Michael Benson's post below:
Devin Haney shares his thoughts on Ryan Garcia possibly using PEDs
In the wake of Ryan Garcia's victory over Devin Haney, news broke that the talented boxer had failed drug tests taken on Friday, before the fight, and Saturday, after the fight.
The reports added more drama to an already-controversial fight, with Garcia's behavior in the lead-up to the bout causing much concern among fans of the sport.
'The Dream' entered the fight as a -550 favorite, but he was outmatched from the early rounds after being dropped by 'KingRy'. He was handed an unexpected defeat and has now shared his thoughts on the controversy surrounding Garcia's drug test failures.
He said this:
"I'm a special kind of fighter. I've never fought and a guy has been that much better than me. I've never been outmatched like that. I've been in there with the best fighters in the world, so I felt like something was up but I didn't want to make any excuses or be that guy."
Watch Devin Haney's comments on Ryan Garcia below: