Haney said the offer required him to wait until roughly $6 million in event expenses were covered before earning anything, followed by a 50-50 split with Romero. He presented the terms as misaligned with his standing, noting Romero has never earned $2 million for a single fight.
“They came to me with a list of expenses of 6 million & I make my first dollar after the 6 million is allocated,” Haney said on X. “& on top of it all, I split it 50% with Rolando, who hasn’t made 2 million in one fight ever!”
The explanation shifts the focus from willingness to fight to the deal structure. The proposed bout had been targeted for May 30 and was positioned as a significant welterweight matchup, but the terms appear to have followed a model where fighters are paid from remaining revenue after costs rather than through a guaranteed purse.
If you look at this through Haney’s lens, it’s a refusal to be the only one gambling. Haney is essentially saying, “I’m the star, yet I’m the one taking all the financial risk while Rolly gets a 50% split of the upside.”
In boxing, a “pricing out” move is often a polite way of saying no, but here, the specific terms Haney leaked, waiting for $6 million in costs to be cleared before earning a cent, suggest a deal that was objectively lopsided for a fighter of his status.
A revenue-first model increases upside if the event performs, but it also transfers financial exposure onto the fighters if it does not. His comments suggest he was not prepared to take that risk under equal-split terms.
The fight is now off for that date, leaving both sides to pursue alternative options. Haney made his position clear: he did not see the numbers as reflecting his side of the equation.
Rolly’s victory over Ryan Garcia last May in Times Square changed his internal math. That win gave him the leverage of having defeated one of the biggest commercial draws in the sport.
Romero has always had a larger-than-life persona, but beating Ryan solidified his belief that he is now an A-side attraction.
By demanding an equal split and a high-risk structure, Rolly is acting like a man who believes he is the draw. Haney, meanwhile, is quick to point out that Rolly hasn’t historically moved the needle on his own.
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