Rich and powerful promoter Floyd Mayweather Jr. offered Papa Bill Haney to help his son, Devin, pick himself back up after his devasting defeat against Ryan Garcia last Saturday night in New York.
(Photo credit: Sumio Yamada)
Pride Getting In the Way
In a classy show of support, Floyd let Bill know that he wanted to help Devin (31-1, 15 KOs) to bring him back after his 12-round majority decision loss to Garcia at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
In a heated online discussion, the superstar Mayweather asked the proud Bill Haney, “Do you need some help?”
Interestingly, Bill Haney turned down Mayweather’s offer to help, repeatedly saying, “No,” signifying that pride was getting in the way of letting the former superstar give his down-and-out son, Devin, a pick-me-up.
Is Bill’s refusal a sign that he feels he owns Devin’s success due to his abilities and calculated management?
This was a classic example of pride undermining Bill, refusing help from the powerful, well-connected, and fabulously rich Mayweather in Devin’s hour of need.
I think instead of refusing the help that Mayweather is offering, Bill should be on his knees, thanking him and gladly accepting because Devin clearly needs all the help he can get right now.
Devin Haney’s Future Outlook
Given the way Ryan handled Devin, his career is heading into oblivion, and he could be old news soon, replaced by other fighters with more talent. That loss showed that Haney, 25, needs all the help he can get, and Bill is getting in the way because of his pride.
The loss could hurt Haney’s future marketability and also impact the kind of match-making available to him. After this defeat, he’s not going to get that Tank Davis fight that he’s been pining away for.
Bill has done a good job with his hustle, taking his son, who has limited about, matching him carefully against fighters much smaller and older than him, to win two division world titles.
What I gathered from the angry bile that Bill spouted is that he’s still bitter that Floyd hasn’t pulled the strings for Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis to fight Devin. That’s a match that would have made Haney a treasure chest full of gold, and it would have increased his fame tenfold. Even if Haney lost, his popularity would increase.
