Teofimo Lopez’s father, Teofimo Sr., believes the rationale behind Devin Haney’s lawsuit is to “get the best of what happened to him” in his loss to Ryan Garcia last April in Brooklyn, New York. Lopez Sr. says Ryan “destroyed” Haney’s image with the beating he inflicted on him in that fight, and he’s trying to rebuild.
Ryan tested positive for the PED Ostarine from that fight, and Haney’s lawsuit is focusing on that. Haney wants punitive damages with his cival lawsuit. If the lawsuit fails, Haney could be facing career oblivion. If he moves up to 147 or 154 to compete against fighters of similar size as him, his chances of success are slim and none.
Ryan Garcia = Oil Well
On the flip side, if Haney wins the lawsuit, he could make a ton of money, and it won’t matter if his career is over. He’ll have enough dough to retire and live a life of luxury as a wealthy aristocrat in Beverly Hills or Atherton, California. Ryan would be like an oil well that will pump money into Haney’s bank account. It would be a dream life for Haney to be one of the idle rich who don’t have to work.
Some fans on social media believe Haney’s true goal is to milk Ryan for as much money as he can because this is as good as it gets for him. With Ryan’s star power, he’s like a cow that can be milked for money for years if he loses the lawsuit against Haney. A financial settlement of $100 million would be a massive windfall for Haney and place Ryan in a position where he’s working for him.
No other big names are chomping at the bit to fight Haney after the way he was beaten. He’s like a dying star that has exhausted nuclear fuel and is going out with a supernova.
There aren’t any similar popular fighters around the weight class that Haney has any chance of fighting. Gervonta Davis isn’t going to fight Haney, and the 140 and 147-lb divisions are lacking in stars.
Whether the judge rules in Haney’s favor remains to be seen. It might be just a waste of time and money on his part. The downside of Haney suing Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) is the backlash that he’s receiving from fans.
If this was a move to rebuild his shattered image, it already has backfired with the public. Maybe that doesn’t matter to Haney because if he wins his lawsuit, he’ll be so rich that his public image isn’t something he would need to be concerned with.
“I think Devin Haney is just trying to play chess and trying to put the right pawns on the right spots so he can get the best of what had happened to him and his image because Ryan Garcia destroyed his image,” said Teofimo Lopez Sr. to Fight Hub TV, talking about why Devin Haney has initiated a lawsuit against Ryan Garcia after losing to him badly last April.
“Not only that, I don’t know if it is true, but Ryan Garcia said that you can grab a little bit of salt and put it into an Olympic pool, and that’s how much substance he had in his body. I don’t know how true that is, but if that’s the case. The beating started from the beginning,” said Lopez Sr. about Ryan dominating Haney from round one in their fight in Brooklyn, New York.
It doesn’t matter that Ryan tested positive for trace amounts of Ostarine. If the judge rules in Haney’s favor, he could make a lot of money from his lawsuit if he can prove that his future earnings were diminished.
