Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia will clash for the WBC super lightweight title this weekend and both will earn tens of millions of dollars. Unlike most boxing fights, the Haney vs Garcia purse was revealed almost entirely. Here is everything we know.
Boxing Fighter Pay: What Will Haney vs Garcia Be Paid?
Devin Haney is ready to make history in a new weight class after vacating the unified lightweight belts a while ago. He said that he achieved everything possible at lightweight and didn’t want to fight at 135 ever again.
In his super lightweight debut, he beat Regis Prograis and won the WBC belt. There surely were more meaningful fights on the table for him but this Garcia fight will probably earn him his biggest purse.
In fact, it appears that this fight was made possibly only after Haney agreed to receive a smaller percentage of the Haney vs Garcia purse.
His father and coach Bill Haney recently revealed that the purse split will be 55/45 in favor of the contender. This is unusual but expected when you have a massive social media figure like Ryan Garcia.
We like him as a boxer but it is a fact that he became famous thanks to his social media stunts. As a fighter, he has not achieved anything significant yet.
We even have a clear hint about the size of that purse. Oscar de la Hoya, Garcia’s promoter, recently mentioned that his client is set to earn a massive sum.
Later on, Garcia made a comment stating that Haney should thank him for the “about $30 million” he would earn from fighting him. This is a shocking number that is absolutely impossible for any other pair in this weight category.
With a 55/45 split, it surely means that the entire Haney vs Garcia purse will be at least $60 million, which is almost unbelievable. Of course, Garcia and his team are known for their controversies but they love showing off too. After all, it is probably true.
Moreover, the winner this weekend will potentially double his earnings after the PPV and bonuses. There is no doubt that this will be the biggest payday for both fighters.
However, as we witnessed the weigh-in yesterday, Ryan Garcia came to the stage with a beer in his hand and missed weight. This will have several implications for the final earnings. Firstly, Garcia is probably going to get fined as there is usually a clause in these huge contracts primarily created for fighters who miss weight.
Moreover, Garcia is no longer going to be fighting for the title and this was supposed to be the biggest day in his career. Finally, he agreed to pay Haney $500,000 for every pound of weight, which means that he now also owes the champ $1.5 million. The fight will continue as scheduled, however, and here is why you still wouldn’t want to miss it.
Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Miss Haney vs Garcia
The stakes were already high with the title on the line but with this amount of money too, this is certainly going to be a fight for the ages. With this said, we’ll take a closer look at the two fighters to give you a better idea of why this is guaranteed to be such a massive boxing spectacle.
Devin Haney has been boxing since he was 7 years old. He began his professional career in 2015, and in 2017 he won his first trophy – the WBC youth lightweight belt.
Since 2018, he has regularly fought in title fights. In 2019, he won the interim WBC belt; the organization later awarded him a full title, which Haney defended four times, after which he became the undisputed lightweight world champion, defeating George Kambosos Jr.
In his last fight in December, he defeated Regis Prograis by unanimous decision and became the WBC junior welterweight champion. Right now, he is undefeated with 31 wins (15 KOs). With such a record, we believe that he deserves a bigger cut from the Haney vs Garcia purse.
For this bout, Haney doesn’t need to change anything in his game plan at all. His main task is to never stagnate in one place and continue to change the angles of attack over and over again, as he did in past fights.
Devin definitely won’t work as number 1, but will instead wait for Garcia to get into the mid-range and try to hit him with his deadly uppercut.
Devin will only have to lure him out and not force the fight until the 7-8th round. In this situation, he is quite capable of taking the fight by decision as he normally does. His last eight wins came by decisions.
As for his opponent, Ryan Garcia has also been training since he was 7 and won various titles as an amateur. He made his pro debut in 2016 when he was 17. Thus far, his greatest achievement was winning the WBC Silver lightweight belt and the interim WBC lightweight belt.
His record is 24-1 with 20 knockouts and his only defeat came against Gervonta Davis in 2023. Curiously, he reportedly earned around $30 million from that fight too. Therefore, this may not be his biggest payday after all unless he wins the fight.
You can get the full details about this fight from our official prediction but we have to say it – we expect Garcia to throw a thousand jabs in the first few rounds as usual.
We do not expect any composure from him and his attitude from the last few days suggests it too. He claims that he can knock Devin out in the first few minutes. With 20 KOs behind him, it sure is a possibility but Haney is on a different level, the Gervonta Davis level.
One way or another, we are about to witness a war in the ring. And with this Haney vs Garcia purse, someone is definitely going home with enough money to retire.
Vlad is a former amateur MMA fighter. After a series of injuries, he found a different way to connect with the sport and its fanbase - through writing. He's been covering everything-UFC for over 5 years on various platforms and has been part of the team at NYFights since early 2022.
