Devin Haney has singled out Floyd Mayweather Jr‘s blueprint as the reasons for fighters not facing each other.
Mayweather is arguably one of the greatest of all time, having gone undefeated for his whole career in 50 fights.
While that may have been the case, the boxer has been accused of avoiding fighters, or delaying bouts to his advantage.
This was most notably seen through Mayweather’s fight with Manny Pacquiao. The bout happened in 2015, much past the prime of both fighters, as Mayweather won by decision.
Not only that, but the rationale behind it allowed Mayweather to pick up lucrative paydays with reports he earned $240 million for the ‘Manny’ fight.
But for all the success, Haney has suggested that this has backfired on the sport.
“We could change the whole dynamic of boxing and make it like the UFC. Those guys fight each other, lose, and fight again in maybe even bigger fights after a loss.
“Floyd made boxing bigger, but he kind of messed up the game with the undefeated record, so guys don’t want to fight each other; they want to keep the 0,” Haney
Those words have played out to some degree, as Tyson Fury’s undisputed bout with Oleksandr Usyk broke down.
This was even though the Ukrainian accepted a 70-30 split against him, despite being the unified heavyweight champion with three belts.
But when it comes to Haney, he has shown that he is willing to fight the best. Back to back fights with George Kambosos Jr. to win and then retain his undisputed titles were a testament to that.
A further fight followed against Vasiliy Lomachenko, showing the American’s credentials. And if Haney can continue to do that, it may encourage other fighters to do the same.