Tag Archives: Devin Haney

Posted on 11/03/2021

By: Hans Themistode

A light bulb flickered on in the mind of Eddie Hearn. In no way, shape or form was the long-time promoter happy when he heard Ryan Garcia was forced to remove himself from his upcoming showdown against Joseph Diaz due to wrist surgery. But, he saw it as an opportunity.

With Devin Haney continuing to call for a big-time fight, Hearn slid a worthwhile contract across the desk of the former 130-pound champion, Joseph Diaz. Originally, Diaz was set to make $1.5 million against Garcia and appeared hesitant to accept a $1 million dollar offer to take on Haney instead.

However, with Hearn offering Diaz slightly more money than what he was expected to make against Garcia, Diaz has quickly signed his name on the dotted line. The two will now officially square off on December 4th, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Diaz, 28, opted to end his time at 130 pounds after an opportunity to win gold five pounds north became available. Initially, Garcia was pegged to take on former multiple division titlist, Javier Fortuna. Nevertheless, those plans were scrapped once Garcia revealed that he would be taking time away from the ring to focus on his mental health.

With only a few weeks to prepare, Diaz jumped at the chance to move up in weight to face Fortuna. Despite coming in as the smaller man, Diaz dominated their showdown, winning a wide unanimous decision.

Following the victory, Diaz wrapped the interim WBC crown around his waist. And with that, he immediately became Haney’s mandatory challenger, something the 22-year-old embraced. However, until recently, Diaz appeared more interested in facing Garcia. That is, until Hearn increased initial his offer.

As for Haney, the Las Vegas, resident couldn’t be happier with the news. In his most recent trip to the ring, Haney thoroughly outboxed multiple-time champion, Jorge Linares. But while Haney’s performance was nearly flawless, he received his fair share of criticism for how things unfolded down the stretch. With Haney dominating, Linares landed a picture-perfect right hand that left Haney on wobbly legs. He would then spend the remainder of their contest refusing to engage before cruising to a unanimous decision victory.

Ultimately, Haney has dissected the film of his performance in an attempt to correct what went wrong. In the end, although Haney was far more defensive in the latter rounds, the 22-year-old believes he can use that experience to his advantage.

“I was born to be great, so these are the moments I get up for,” said Haney. “I learned a lot from my last fight. It made me a more dangerous fighter. You guys can expect a ton of excitement and explosion in this fight!”

Posted on 10/18/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Joseph Diaz was over the moon when it was announced that he would be taking on Ryan Garcia. With the two originally slated to square off on November 27th, Diaz was fully convinced that after just a few rounds, he would leave the undefeated, flamboyant star flat on his back.

Regardless of Diaz’s excitement for their showdown, he was ultimately despondent when news broke of Garcia suffering a serious injury to his right wrist that will require surgery to repair. Initially, Garcia was hopeful that their contest could take place in the first quarter of 2022. However, with the opportunity to pocket the exact same amount of money and not only step through the ropes sooner, but for a world title, Diaz has opted to change course.

“I’m a fight Devin Haney in December y’all I promise,” stated Diaz on his social media account.

At first, Diaz mulled long and hard over the idea of facing Haney. With the former 130-pound champion set to make $1.5 million dollars against Garcia, as opposed to $1 million against Haney, the financial rewards didn’t quite add up. Since then, however, promoter Eddie Hearn, who works alongside Haney, recently revealed that he upped the ante, offering Diaz the same money to face Haney. That in turn, has left Diaz smiling from ear to ear and anxious to face the undefeated titlist.

While negotiations are still ongoing, Diaz is already exuding an extreme amount of confidence. During his near decade-long career, the 28-year-old Diaz has faced some of the most well known fighters in three separate weight classes, including against the likes of Gary Russell Jr., Tevin Farmer, and most recently, Javier Fortuna.

Diaz though, has taken a quick snapshot of the names plastered to the resume of Haney and can’t help but notice two things. For starters, Diaz finds it arduous in recognizing most of the fighters Haney has faced. Second, and most importantly, Diaz realizes that while Haney and Garcia have two completely different styles, they have one thing in common.

“Like Ryan Garcia hasn’t been tested, I’ll give Devin his first L.”

Posted on 10/15/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Ryan Garcia had effectively taken a six-month boxing sabbatical to address his mental health. But while Garcia was confident that he got his mind right, it was his body that has recently failed him.

In Garcia’s return to the ring, the lightweight contender was set to take on WBC interim lightweight titlist, Joseph Diaz. The two were penciled in for a November 27th, showdown in Los Angeles, California.

Now, however, as Garcia began ramping up activity during training camp, he’s sustained a serious injury to his right hand. News of Garcia’s injury was first reported by Mike Coppinger of ESPN. Coppinger later revealed that Garcia will now have subsequent wrist surgery and is hoping to face off against Diaz in February.

After picking up the most significant win of his career against Luke Campbell on January 2nd, earlier this year, Garcia’s momentum has come to a grinding halt. Since securing the win against Campbell, Garcia was set to take on multiple division titlist Javier Fortuna. Those plans though, never came to past as Garcia, as previously mentioned, prioritized his mental health.

Stepping in on short notice to replace Garcia was Joseph Diaz. Although Diaz moved up in weight to land the showdown against Fortuna, he showed little to no trouble in navigating the 135-pound waters. Diaz would both outbox and outmuscle his man to record the unanimous decision win.

At the moment, it’s unclear if Diaz would be willing to sit out the rest of the calendar year to face Garcia in the first quarter of 2022. If Diaz opts to go in another direction, he could bypass Garcia altogether and square off against WBC full titleholder, Devin Haney.

The 22-year-old Haney has often criticized both Diaz and Garcia for their refusal to face him. Presently, Diaz is the number one mandatory challenger to Haney and his lightweight world title.

Posted on 10/15/2021

By: Hans Themistode

There’s little to no doubt that the lightweight division is jam-packed with several notable names. Particularly amongst the younger group. But as Teofimo Lopez Sr. takes a peek at the resumes of names such as Devin Haney, Gervonta Davis, and Ryan Garcia – he’s noticing a consistent pattern.

“My son is the only one in the lightweight division stepping up to the toughest competition,” said Lopez Sr. to a group of reporters. “We’re the only one from the younger crowd that has the lineal belt. On ESPN, he’s pound for pound number five so we’re doing great things. These guys are just fighting guys to play it safe.”

While his son, Teofimo Lopez, could opt to follow a similar path, Lopez Sr. won’t allow it. In just his 15th pro fight, Lopez took on former IBF lightweight titlist Richard Commey on December 14th, 2019. After a bit of a sluggish start, Lopez violently ended the night of Commey in the second round.

With the win, Lopez not only draped his first world title across his shoulders, but he also lined up a date with former unified champion Vasyl Lomachenko. Despite Lopez being pegged as the significant underdog, he registered the colossal upset.

In the case of Haney, Davis, and Garcia, however, they have yet to face someone who holds the same credentials as Lomachenko. At the moment, Lopez has continued his bid to face the best either in or around or his weight class. Next up for the 24-year-old New York, native is an unspecified date against mandatory challenger George Kambosos Jr.

Should Lopez successfully defend his lightweight titles, Lopez Sr. revealed that the plan would be to have his son make the trek five-pounds north to challenge undisputed 140-pound champion, Josh Taylor.

As for those who continue to place Lopez’s name next to his young contemporaries, Lopez Sr. shakes his head in disbelief. While he believes the likes of Garcia, Haney, and Davis are extremely talented – Lopez Sr. is of the mindset that his son is simply head and shoulders above them all.

“We’re chasing Josh Taylor, that’s the guy that we want. They don’t understand the game, you fight the best to become the best. My son is way ahead of them.”

Posted on 10/03/2021

By: Hans Themistode

The prevailing thought process in boxing circles is that Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez, Ryan Garcia, Gervonta “Tank” Davis, and Shakur Stevenson are future stars in the sport of boxing. Those sentiments are something that Bill Haney, Devin Haney’s father, agrees with.

Unsurprisingly, Bill believes that his son is the cream of the crop. But, of all those aforementioned fighters, he views one as being by far the biggest threat to his offspring and his future goals.

“Tank has always been the most dangerous fighter of those future or possible opponents,” said Bill Haney during an interview with FightHype.com. “Make no mistake about it.”

Recently, Davis only re-enforced the comments of Bill Haney. After dominating the competition at 130 and 135 pounds, the hard-hitting Baltimore native tried his hand at 140 pounds. In his first contest in his new weight division, Davis took on WBA “Regular” belt holder, Mario Barrios.

Despite forfeiting the advantage in the height, reach and weight departments, Davis went on to defeat his much bigger opponent. Any questions of Davis and whether or not his unrelenting power would carry, was immediately answered as he dropped Barrios a total of three times before ultimately picking up the 11th round stoppage win.

The victory may have garnered Davis even more respect in the boxing world, but Bill Haney found his contest against Barrios as essentially inconsequential in how he views the 26-year-old knockout artist.

“I didn’t need to see him against Mario Barrios for me to know that he’s always been the most dangerous.”

If a matchup between Haney and Davis ever materializes, it would be a showdown between two completely different fighters. While Davis has shown off his boxing skills throughout his career, he’s mostly known for leaving his opponents comatose in the ring. On the other side of the equation, Devin Haney has developed into one of the sports pure boxers.

On May 29th, at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, earlier this year, Devin Haney carefully dissected former multiple division titlist, Jorge Linares, to defend his WBC lightweight crown.

Considering Devin’s ability to box and move, Bill believes that his son could present the sort of problems to Davis that he’s yet to see in the ring. But while Bill is unquestionably backing his son in their possible future showdown, he does acknowledge that Davis packs the sort of punch that will leave Devin on his toes and alert at all times.

“I just know that stylistically, Devin presents some problems for Tank, just like Tank presents a great deal of dangerous power to Devin as well.”

Posted on 09/13/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Although Anderson Silva has spent the majority of his fighting career in the UFC’s octagon, Devin Haney has always been in awe.

After spending roughly two decades dominating inside the steel cage, Silva has decided to forego his Mixed Martial Arts gear in favor of boxing gloves. With Silva having little to no experience in the ring, the future UFC Hall of Famer took on former middleweight belt holder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. earlier this year.

While he may have been pegged as the underdog, Silva had a relatively easy time outboxing his man. For an encore, Silva made another trip to the ring this past weekend, taking on fellow former UFC star, Tito Ortiz. Silva wasted no time in destroying his man, landing a flush right hook that saw Ortiz hit the deck.

Considering everything that Silva has achieved in his MMA career, Haney has nothing but the utmost respect for his accomplishments. With that said, the current WBC lightweight champion is under the impression that Silva may have originally made the wrong professional choice.

“Anderson Silva was a beast in the octagon,” said Haney on his social media account. “But he should’ve been a boxer with what he’s doing at his age.”

At the age of 46, Silva is considered long in the tooth in terms of boxing years. However, despite the age, Silva believes he has a sizable amount of time left in his newly adopted sport.

“My goal is my last fight is 49,” said Silva during an interview with TMZ. “49, I’m done. Probably, I’m done. That is my goal. Fight 3 more years and done. 49. That’s the number. Maybe I can fight more, but right now my goal is when I turn 49, I stop fighting. But I don’t know. I’m in good shape. I’m so happy to go to the gym every day. I’m such a lucky guy because God gave me the opportunity for me to continue doing my job.”

Posted on 08/27/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Fans have undoubtedly enjoyed the nonstop trash talk between WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney, and former WBA interim titlist, Rolando “Rolly” Romero.

While Rolly has insisted that Haney is his “daughter” and he’ll baby him in the ring, Haney has responded by calling the skills of Rolly “trash.” Rather than continue to go back forth through social media, both fighters have expressed a willingness to put the phones down, pick up the gloves and settle things in the ring.

Eddie Hearn, former promoter Haney, believes that with everything that’s been said, a matchup between the pair would bring a ton of eyeballs to the television screen.

“I think that’s a fight that would have a lot of juice in it,” said Hearn on the Ak and Barak Show. “I think it’s a fight that would have a lot of beef in it. Therefore, it’s a fight that makes sense.”

With the WBA sanctioning body pushing forward to remove all interim titleholders across all weight classes, Rolly, subsequently, saw his year and a half-title reign come to an end. Recently, the Las Vegas, Nevada resident picked up a knockout victory over Anthony Yigit earlier this year in mid-July.

As for Haney, he’s continued to laugh at the mere thought that a matchup between himself and Rolly would be anything other than one-sided. Coming off the biggest win of his career, a unanimous decision victory over former multiple division titlist Jorge Linares earlier this year, Haney is currently sifting through his options.

Just over a month ago, former 130-pound champion Joseph “JoJo” Diaz, successfully moved up in weight to take on Javier Fortuna. With the win, Diaz snagged the WBC interim title and is now the mandatory challenger to Haney and his full championship status. Since pulling off the win, Hearn has extended his hand in the direction of Diaz, in the hopes of lining up a showdown between him and Haney.

Although a contest between the WBC lightweight titlist and Rolly is the sexier matchup on paper, Hearn simply isn’t convinced that it would be competitive.

“I must say that the target remains JoJo Diaz for November for Devin Haney. That’s the fight we want to make because that’s a real fight. No disrespect to Rolly but, I just don’t think that’s a difficult fight for Devin Haney.”

Posted on 08/15/2021

By: Hans Themistode

There is absolutely no love lost between Devin Haney and Rolando Romero.

The two have been seen on numerous occasions going back and forth on social media exchanging insults. Recently, Haney, the WBC lightweight champion, posted a video of himself on his Instagram account next to a pile of trash. The 22-year-old then proceeded to ruffle through the garbage while calling Romero’s name, insinuating that his long-time rival is an awful boxer.

Romero has since retaliated, calling Haney his daughter.

At one point, Romero wanted nothing more than to settle his beef with Haney in the ring. However, after taking a bit of time to look over his options, the 25-year-old WBA “Regular” titlist has someone else in mind.

“Devin Haney is a waste of time,” said Romero during an interview with Fight Hub TV. “I want Gervonta Davis.”

Romero’s lack of interest in facing Haney, ultimately comes down to his fighting style. When juxtaposed next to Davis, the two approach the sport in vastly different ways.

In the case of Haney, the Las Vegas, Nevada resident has a tendency to outbox his opponents and take the safe approach. As for Davis, the three-division world champion has left virtually none of his contests in the hands in the hands of the judges.

Considering Romero’s own knockout power, a matchup between himself and Davis simply screams fireworks. That, and the long list of accomplishments he has under his belts, make him a much more intriguing opponent.

“Which one is the more entertaining fight? Which one is the more explosive fight? Which one is the more accomplished champion? I go after big fish, I don’t go after email champs. He’s a bum with no chin.”

In Haney’s most recent trip to the ring, the 22-year-old picked up a win against the highly-skilled, former multiple division titlist, Jorge Linares. While Haney was ecstatic to pick up the win, the manner in which he snagged victory has been heavily criticized.

After outboxing Linares early on, Haney was rocked by his man at the tail end of the tenth round. A visibly shaken Haney then opted to avoid long exchanges and instead, spent the remainder of their contest attempting to hold.

Although Linares is mostly lauded in boxing circles, in the mind of Romero, he’s nothing more than a past his prime older fighter.

“He got hurt by Linares, a frail ass fighter.”

Posted on 07/26/2021

By: Hans Themistode

An epiphany of sorts suddenly hit Devin Haney this past weekend.

Coming off the biggest win of his career against former multiple division champion Jorge Linares on May 29th, the WBC lightweight titlist is anxious to get back in the ring. With that said, he believes the feeling isn’t exactly mutual for many of the division’s top names.

“I’m the most avoided fighter in boxing today,” said Haney on his social media account.

Haney’s belief that many fighters are hesitant to step into the ring with him stems from what he deems is a guaranteed title shot, when it’s their turn in the pecking order.

For starters, former WBC lightweight interim champion Ryan Garcia was appointed as the mandatory challenger to Haney’s title. While the undefeated California native could have taken him on, he opted to face Luke Campbell instead, stopping him in the 7th round earlier this year. Garcia’s reasoning behind moving away from a fight with Haney was that he believed their contest should be given more time to build into a mega event.

Recently, Joseph Diaz, a former titleholder at 130 pounds, moved up in weight to challenge Javier Fortuna. With their contest listed as a title eliminator, Diaz took hold of the WBC interim crown once he was announced the winner on July 9th. Since then, the newly turned 135-pound contender has openly called for a showdown with Haney.

With that said, rumors have surfaced that Diaz could be a potential opponent for either Garcia, or multiple division champion, Gervonta Davis.

News of yet another mandatory challenger possibly heading in another direction has prompted Haney (26-0, 15 KOs) to simply shake his head. In short, the Las Vegas resident can’t recall anything even remotely close to this happening in the history of boxing.

“These fighters need to stop with the excuses,” continued Haney. “If you don’t wanna fight me just say that. This will be the first time in history that you see two mandatories opt-out to fight the champion.”

While Haney has grown irritated with what he feels is a lack of opponents stepping up to the plate, he remains hopeful that he’ll draw a big name for his next ring outing. Until then, the 22-year-old will continue to publicly castigate those who fail to face him.

Posted on 07/19/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Rolando “Rolly” Romero continued his winning way this past Saturday night. The WBA interim 135-pound belt holder crushed late replacement opponent, Anthony Yigit.

Before the two stepped into the ring, both men stepped onto the scales. Needless to say, Rolly wasn’t too pleased as Yigit came in 5.5 pounds over the weight limit. While the Las Vegas, resident could have opted to step away from their showdown, he simply shrugged his shoulders and agreed to take him on anyway. The extra weight of Yigit proved to make no difference though, as he was dropped twice and ultimately stopped in the seventh.

While the crowd at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas appeared to be impressed, one person who wasn’t, was Devin Haney.

The WBC 135 pound belt holder watched closely from his palatial estate and offered harsh criticism.

“Rolly is a pile of sh*t,” said Haney on his social media account.

With Haney’s words catching the attention of Rolly, he immediately offered to take him on and quickly followed that up with an evaluation of Haney’s most recent performance against Jorge Linares.

“I’ll fight Devin Haney,” said Rolly during the post-fight presser. “He’s chinny as hell, he got hurt with Venum gloves, that’s a joke.”

The gloves that Rolly is referring to, were worn by Linares when he took on Haney on May 29th earlier this year. While the 22-year-old dominated most of the action, Linares landed a game changing blow in the 10th as he wobbled his man. For the duration of their contest, Haney avoided any long exchanges and instead, looked to grab and hold until the final bell.

In Rolly’s opinion, he isn’t focusing solely on how Haney was rocked during the championship rounds. Instead, he points to something else that was far more alarming.

“It’s not even that he just got hurt, he didn’t recover. It was like four rounds that he didn’t recover.”

To further back his claims that Haney has major chin issues, Rolly juxtaposes his young rival to another former talented fighter who also had problems of his own whenever someone landed their money shot right on the button.

“Linares is nowhere near the punch like me. He’s (Devin Haney) probably the chinnest fighter at 35, if not the most chinnest in the entire sport. He’s the Amir Khan of 135.”

Posted on 06/12/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Vasiliy Lomachenko is busy putting the final finishing touches on his training camp as he prepares to return to the ring against lightweight contender Masayoshi Nakatani on June 26th, at the Virgin Hotels, in Las Vegas, Nevada. But even as the Ukrainian is fully focused on the task at hand, he still took a bit of time away from his busy schedule to flick on the television and watch some boxing. Just a few weeks ago, Lomachenko found one matchup, in particular, to be very intriguing.

Current WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney took on former multiple-time champion, Jorge Linares. Over the past few months, both Haney and Lomachenko have exchanged verbal jabs with one another over the possibility of a future showdown. Although Lomachenko believes he’ll punish Haney if the two ever did face off, he did give the 22-year-old his props for looking explosive in the ring.

“It was a very good fight,” said Lomachenko during an interview with SnowQueenLA. “He show us his skill. He’s a very smart boxer.

Haney, a Las Vegas resident, used every weapon in his toolbox on that Saturday night to pull off the win. While he looked impressive for the vast majority of their fight, Haney had serious problems going down the stretch.

At the tail end of the 10th, Haney was rocked and visibly staggered to his corner. For the remainder of their contest, Haney refused to let his hands go and held Linares seemingly every second he could. Before getting rattled, Lomachenko couldn’t help but be impressed with the young titleholder but considering how he finished the fight, all the Ukrainian could do was shake his head in disappointment.

“He had a problem in the fight,” continued Lomachenko. “The last three rounds were very hard for him. Nobody knows if Linares catches him one more time. Referee helped him a little bit because Haney always hold the last three rounds. If the referee take away a point from Haney, I think it will be another picture.

“Haney was trying to survive. He was trying to finish the fight somehow because he couldn’t do anything else. All he was able to do was wrestle and hold. That is illegal in boxing. By doing that, he was able to avoid the fight. But then again, before that one shot, he was winning the fight. He won this fight no question but it was not easy.”

In the mind of many, the criticism of Lomachenko would seem a bit unfair. Having shared the ring with Linares roughly three years ago, the pound for pound stalwart knows good and well how difficult he is to overcome. In May of 2018, Lomachenko was caught with a straight right hand from Linares and hit the deck for the first in his career. Despite the knockdown, Lomachenko quickly peeled himself up off the canvas to stop Linares in the 10th.

Lomachenko has no issue with anyone who brings up his hard-fought battle against Linares. All that he asks, is that everyone use the proper context when discussing it.

“It was flush. Yea I lost balance but I get up and feel good and was ready to finish the fight. When I fought Linares, he was in his prime. It was three years ago and I fought Linares with one hand because I had a problem with my shoulder in the second round. Before this knockdown, I didn’t have a problem. In my opinion, there is nothing to compare between Haney vs Linares and my fight vs Linares. It doesn’t mean anything to me because the time we fought Linares was different. He was at the top back then, right now he is an older fighter.”

Posted on 06/01/2021

By: Steven Galeano

WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney took a significant step toward divisional supremacy Saturday night after defeating former three-division world champion Jorge Linares. Haney faced adversity after being visibly hurt at the end of round 10, yet showed veteran tactics to survive and preserve a unanimous decision to defend his world title. The three judges scored the bout – 116-112, 116-112, 115-113, all for Haney.

Is Haney (26-0, 15 KOs) the best lightweight in the world right now?

No.

Unified champion Teofimo Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) owns that notion, and many would not debate such a topic. Vasyl Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs), is still the second best lightweight, despite losing his world titles to Lopez in October of 2020. For whatever reason, Lomachenko is seemingly a forgotten man in the division, yet he is still second best after being number one since entering the division in 2018.

Haney deservedly is number three after his big win over Linares (47-6, 29 KOs). Whether you consider Gervonta Davis (24-0, 23 KOs) a lightweight, definitely shakes up this list. With Davis’ last fight taking place at super featherweight, and his next fight taking place at super lightweight, he will currently be left out of the list.

Haney proved himself to be a world-class operator, outclassing Linares in a way fans are not accustomed to seeing. The masterclass was largely overlooked by the end of round 10 when Linares badly hurt Haney before the bell rang, as Haney stumbled to the corner. Haney smartly held for the next two rounds, much to the dismay of fans.

Most in the boxing world are clamoring to see Haney face-off with Lopez, largely to clear up the confusion regarding whether Lopez is truly undisputed. That is another topic to discuss separately. Haney firmly staked himself as the third best lightweight in the world and the Linares win only further justified his placement. The victory, however, was not nearly enough to place him higher than Lomachenko, considering Lomachenko knocked out a more formidable version of Linares in 10 rounds back in 2018. To place himself as number one or two, he will need to secure an opportunity against Lopez or Lomachenko, two fights that will cause great debates in regards to who will win.

Haney defeating Linares was a great step, as boxing fans have been requesting Haney and promoter Eddie Hearn to step up his level of competition. His method of winning the WBC title was controversial, yet his victory over Linares was the sort of signature victory that erased all doubts of his championship mettle.

Haney proved he is an elite talent, and the next step is simply to continue fighting the best possible contenders. The top fights in the division will not be easy to make, yet fans hope to see them come to fruition soon enough. As his profile continues to grow, fans will put more pressure to see the top fights happen before the appeal fades.

Posted on 06/01/2021

By: Hans Themistode

When the dust settled between Devin Haney and Jorge Linares, the 22-year-old WBC belt holder was the last man standing. Just a few days ago, Haney outboxed his man on his way to a unanimous decision victory at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

While most have lauded Haney for putting on a boxing clinic, current WBA “Regular” lightweight titlist, Rollie Romero, would rather point and criticize Haney for his performance down the stretch.

With a dominant showing during the first nine rounds, Haney was caught with a flush one, two combination at the end of the tenth. A visibly stunned Haney stumbled back to his corner at the round and appeared to be on shaky legs for the remainder of their contest. It was in those moments where Romero noticed a glaring flaw in the game of Haney.

“That’s the chiniest f*cking fighter in the game right now. How the f*ck do you get hurt by old ass Linares?”

Immediately following the win, Haney was bombarded with nonstop questions pertaining to his buckling legs in the tenth. While the 22-year-old continues to push forth the narrative that he was just fine, his actions during the contest seemed to indicate something else.

Having done more than enough in the first nine rounds, Haney appeared more interested in holding and avoiding the big shots of Linares as opposed to engaging with him. At one point during the 12th and final round, Haney did a full-on sprint to hold on to Linares as to milk the clock. His defensive strategy paid off in the end as he was awarded the biggest win of his career.

Despite Linares holding world titles in multiple weight classes and scoring several knockouts in his career, Romero doesn’t hold him in high regard. At the age of 35, Romero views Linares as essentially a shot fighter and one he was expecting Haney to get rid of at some point during their showdown.

For Romero, Haney can sit there and try to explain all he wants that he wasn’t hurt during the championship rounds. If he truly wasn’t buzzed, then Romero would simply like him to answer one obscenity-laced question.

“I really thought Haney was going to knock that boy out because Linares is dirt trash. Linares is garbage but Haney got the weakest chin in boxing. Then, he goes back and holds for the rest of the f*cking fight. If he wasn’t hurt then why the fuck did he start fighting like a b*tch?”

Posted on 05/31/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Devin Haney officially made the breakthrough he was looking for. The WBC lightweight belt holder took on his biggest test to date when he matched up against former multiple division titlist, Jorge Linares. The two faced off this past weekend at the Michelob Ultra Arena, in Las Vegas, Nevada in front of roughly 5,000 fans.

For the overwhelming majority of their contest, Haney did what he wanted, when he wanted to. Although Haney was ultimately rocked in the tenth and spent the final few rounds holding instead of engaging, he picked up the biggest win of his career. While most have focused on a few of his shaky moments, Bill Haney, father and trainer of Devin, would rather the public place more of their attention on what his son was able to accomplish. With Linares facing some of the best fighters in the world over the course of his career, Devin arguably performed better than them all.

“We wanted to show another style of Devin,” said Bill during an interview with Fight Hub TV. “He did it from the inside, he did it from outside. When you can outbox a Jorge Linares, I don’t think anyone has ever went up that much on points on Linares. Not even (Vasiliy) Lomachenko, he didn’t pitch a shutout like that. We showed some things that we know that some other boxers have taken notice to, whether they want to admit it or not.”

Now that Devin Haney has officially passed the test presented to him by Jorge Linares, Bill Haney wants his son to take things to the next level.

For the better part of the last year, both Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez have hurled curse words at one another. While team Haney refrained from placing their energy in the back and forth rhetoric recently, now that their match with Linares is officially behind them, Bill Haney reignited their war of words. Not only does the long-time trainer want Lopez next but he also predicted how things would play out.

“He’ll box Teofimo’s ass up. You see that we can take a shot, you see that we can work on the inside. Teofimo is the one that’s going to have to go to the lab. When have you seen Teofimo have an inside game? You haven’t. Come on Teo we done handled our business. Now what y’all gonna do? We handled our business. What’s next? Let’s make this sh*t happen.”

Posted on 05/30/2021

By: Hans Themistode

For the vast majority of their contest, Devin Haney looked like a world-beater. The WBC lightweight titlist took on the highly-rated Jorge Linares at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, last night.

Heading into their showdown, many believed the boxing skills of Linares would trouble Haney early on. Yet, the sharpshooting former multiple-time belt holder was simply no match for the Las Vegas, resident. Although Haney mostly dominated, he received plenty of flak for the way he responded during the championship rounds.

With Linares (47-6, 29 KOs) clearly losing on the cards, he landed a picture-perfect left, right combination at the end of the tenth which left Haney visibly wobbled. For the duration of their contest, Haney (26-0, 15 KOs) opted to clench on the inside as opposed to actually engage. But while many have downgraded his performance due to his shaky ending, promoter Eddie Hearn views it differently.

“For nine rounds it was a masterclass,” said Hearn during an interview with Fight Hub TV. “He got buzzed in the tenth and had to recover, it was a good learning experience for him. Don’t forget, he was the same guy who dropped Vasiliy Lomachenko. Linares can punch very hard.”

To his credit, Haney never appeared to be on his way to hitting the deck. Pair his ability to survive the championship rounds with his overall boxing skills, and Hearn believes Haney is on his way to superstardom. In fact, the long-time promoter has a question for everyone who continues to doubt the WBC lightweight titlist.

“Show me another fighter at 22 who’s as talented as Devin Haney. It was a great win, great learning experience, I think he’s ready for all the big boys.”

With the biggest win safely in his back pocket, Haney will now go back home to his palatial estate and await what’s next. While it’s far too early to make an assumption, if Hearn has things go his way, an undisputed lightweight showdown will be next on Haney’s calendar.

“I think he should fight Teofimo (Lopez). It’s a tough fight but I would love to make that fight. It’s a brilliant fight for the division.”