Devin Haney has offered a new explanation for why negotiations with Rolando “Rolly” Romero fell apart after previously indicating the proposed deal looked appealing.
Responding to a fan on social media who questioned why he turned the fight down, Haney said the headline figure changed dramatically once he reviewed the financial details behind the offer.
“Yeah, the offer was good until I seen the expenses,” Haney said on X. “I could offer someone a fight for 10 million, but if the expenses is 9 million then obviously it’s really not 10 million. So yes, the initial number was good until I looked into the budget.”
Rolly previously claimed he bent over backward to finalize the matchup, even agreeing to a straight 50-50 split. He publicly accused Haney of walking away from a fair deal, but Haney’s new comments directly counter that narrative by revealing the financial reality hidden behind the headline numbers.
Haney made it clear that the headline purse wasn’t the problem; the hidden expenses killed the deal. In his view, the advertised number was completely unrealistic once all the back-end costs were deducted from the final payout.
The proposed welterweight unification bout would have pitted WBO champion Haney against WBA titleholder Rolly. With negotiations dead, Rolly instead finalized a title defense against former two-division undisputed champion Teofimo Lopez, set for August 22 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Haney has not announced his next opponent. In recent weeks, Haney has also been mentioned as a potential opponent for Shakur Stevenson and Keyshawn Davis, although neither fight has been finalized.
Tom Galm is a boxing journalist who has covered the global fight landscape since 2014, specializing in heavyweight analysis, industry trends, and fighter psychology.
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Boxing News 24 » Devin Haney » Devin Haney Explains Why He Rejected Rolly Romero Fight After Initially Calling Offer ‘Good’
Last Updated on 2026/07/10 at 11:59 AM