It has been a difficult year so far for Devin Haney. The boxing community bore witness to the beatdown he received at the hands of Ryan Garcia on the night of April 20, leading to an MD win for the latter. Although Haney’s loss was changed to a no-contest due to Garcia’s numerous penalties for using the banned substance Ostarine before their fight, the 25-year-old fighter’s reputation was left in tatters. The loss to Garcia affected the former undisputed lightweight champion “mentally”, forcing him to take a break from boxing.

But, laying low isn’t what Haney is doing. There is a video circulating on the internet of him and his entourage fighting on the streets with an unnamed individual at the Orange County State Fair in California. Indulging in an exercise in damage limitation, Haney chalked up the reason for the violent outburst to a “racial slur” directed at him.

Did the reason justify a beatdown?

In the video that went viral on social media, the 31-0 fighter and his entourage were seen arguing with an unnamed man at a state fair. Suddenly, Haney threw a sneaky punch at the man. The situation escalated from there as Haney’s friends began to batter the individual while the super-lightweight boxer walked away from the scene. However, it is now being reported that Haney’s actions were in response to a racial slur hurled at him by the individual. “In a deleted post on X. Devin Haney hinted that a racial slur instigated the street fight video, which has gone viral,” Boxing Kingdom reported on X.

Notably, the content of the deleted post has not been screen-grabbed by the source. However, the fans came down hard on Haney for cornering an unarmed individual and beating him up. On a cursory glance, it doesn’t look good for Haney. However, it would be best if we reserve our judgments until all the facts are out.

Meanwhile, you might be curious to know what happened to his WBC belt, as he is currently out of action.

Is Haney still a champion?

The WBC has officially classified Haney as the champion in recess as his request to the sanctioning body has been approved. Now, the WBC elevated Alberto Puello to full champion status on July 15 and has ordered him to make a mandatory defense against Sandor Martin.

Initially, Haney was supposed to defend his title against mandatory challenger Martin, but he was disappointed by the purse bid for the fight. In Haney’s fight against Garcia, the former’s title was not on the line as Ryan Garcia couldn’t make weight, coming 3.2 pounds over the 140-pound weight limit.

Meanwhile, Haney had planned to take further legal action against Garcia for Haney missing out on lucrative financial offers following his loss to him. For context, Top Rank’s purse bid for Devin Haney’s title defense fight against Sandor Martin was a measly $2,420,000, and it was the only promotion that bid for the fight.

Nonetheless, what is your take on Devin Haney’s street fight video? Moreover, when do you think Devin Haney will return to the ring? Let us know in the comment section below.