Devin Haney Denies Racism Claims
Devin Haney has been forced to deny claims of racism after he said “I will never lose to a white boy” in a recent interview.
The 21-year-old made the comment when asked about the current lightweight champion and pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko. Since then Haney has faced huge backlash online for what many believed were racially motivated comments.
Lightweight rival Ryan Garcia was quick to bash Haney for his racially insensitive comments, he said. “We should all respect everyone from every race and see who the best man is! I respect Devin Haney and I believe he didn’t mean this with racist intent but let’s all respect each other for the love of the sport.”
Speaking to 78SPORTSTV, Haney claimed he was ready to end Lomachenko’s hype, he said. “I’ll tell you this. I will never lose to a white boy in my life. I don’t care what nobody got to say. Fight a white boy 10 times, I’m going to beat him 10 times.”
Bernard Hopkins infamously made similar comments before fighting and losing against Welshman Joe Calzaghe back in 2008.
Since making the comment Haney has refuted claims he is a racist and tried to clear the air with WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman, speaking on social media he said.
“I’m not racist and I never will be a racist. I’m chasing greatness.”
“I just had a very positive conversation with Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the WBC, and confirmed to him directly my commitment to be a role model and my absolute rejection of discrimination of any kind.”
Haney won the WBC lightweight title last year. He was declared the ‘champion in recess’ due to an injury but is now ready to fight again. Haney has been linked to fights against British Olympic gold medallist Luke Campbell and Ukrainian superstar Lomachenko.
Should Devin Haney face punishment for his comments?
