Eddie Hearn Cautions Against Devin Haney Vs. Subriel Matias Fight

Promoter Eddie Hearn says he doesn’t feel Devin Haney should fight IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias next, with him coming off a loss to Ryan Garcia last April.

Concerns over Haney’s Recovery

Hearn feels that WBC light welterweight champion Haney (31-1, 15 KOs) took a lot of punishment in his defeat against Ryan, and he doesn’t think it’s a good idea for him to go into what would promise to be a fueling fight against the hard-punching Matias (20-1, 20 KOs).

Instead of Haney fighting Matias in a unification, Hearn would like Devin to defend his WBC belt against his mandatory Sandor Martin next. That’s a better fight for Haney right now.

Martin (42-3, 15 KOs) isn’t a big puncher, and the only thing Haney would have to worry about is getting outboxed by him, which is a possibility.

Of course, if Haney’s punch resistance has been affected by his fight with Ryan Garcia, the southpaw Martin has enough pop in his punches to take advantage of that.

He knocked Teofimo Lopez down twice in their fight in December 2022 and had him mentally questioning himself afterward when he was given a controversial 10-round split decision.

Hearn’s Comments

“I don’t think Matias is the right fight for Devin Haney right now coming off that defeat [to Ryan Garcia]. He took punishment that night. That’s why I love the Sandor Martin fight [for Haney],” said promoter Eddie Hearn to the media when asked if a unification fight between IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias and WBC champ Devin Haney is a good fight.

“I’m not saying Devin wouldn’t fight Subriel Matias. He would, but that’s a back-to-back [grueling contest] if he wasn’t ready or psychologically ready for that fight. If you get beat back to back, and you know it’s going to be a punishing fight.

“If you fight Subriel, you better be prepared to go to some dark, horrible places in the ring, because if you’re Liam [Paro] or Devin, you’re not going to get him out of there early.

“He’s going to back you up, throw everything at you. He’s going to hit you around the side of your head, the top of your head, the body. You got to come through it, and coming off a defeat like Devin, that’s why I believe Sandor Martin is the right fight,” said Hearn.