Two-division world champion Bernard Hopkins has shown a lack of interest in the ill-fated negotiations between Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia.
Haney vacated his undisputed lightweight title in favour of a move up to 140lbs and whitewashed Regis Prograis to claim to WBC Super-Lightweight Title last month.
Meanwhile, Garcia took part in one of the standout events of 2023, but lost to Gervonta Davis in a first career defeat, before bouncing back with a win of his own in December at his more natural weight of super-lightweight.
He quickly took to calling out Haney, who then confirmed that negotiations had begun. Hopkins – who is a top dog at Garcia’s promoter Golden Boy alongside Oscar De La Hoya – told FightHype that
“Boxing fans are tired of hearing lip service – they want to hear that ‘oh we’ve got this contract signed’ rather than ‘I want to fight this guy.’
I think that the drama queens are starting to get to the point where fans are turned off and don’t care who they fight or when they fight. That’s the risk that happens when you make a soap opera out of it.”
Asked how he sees the fight going should it happen, Hopkins was undecided, but said it wasn’t a must-see fight.
“I don’t know, I think that it is an even fight. I do care about it, from a business side, but it could go either way. I think that both of them know each other, I think that both of them believe that they can win and for boxing, I think that it is a fight that people can live with and they can live without.”
Hopkins was proved right given that since the initial talks and this interview, Garcia has now confirmed that he wants to change route and face WBA Champion Rolando Romero instead, much to Haney’s distaste.