By Kenneth Friedman: WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney (24-0, 15 KOs) could be back inside the ring in July fighting without fans present. Haney, 21, says his promoter Eddie Hearn wants to have him fight in July against a still to be determined opponent.
The pandemic will likely limit the quality of Haney’s next opponent, especially if the travel ban is still in place by July. That would mean that Haney’s challenger would come from the United States.
That would be Haney’s first fight in eight months since suffering a shoulder injury in his title defense against Alfredo Santiago on November 9. Haney subsequently needed shoulder surgery after the fight to fix the problem.
Shortly after that, the World Boxing Council changed Haney’s status to ‘Champion in Recess,’ and they temporarily had his WBC lightweight vacant.
But with the pandemic, the contenders Javier Fortuna and Luke Campbell, couldn’t fight for Haney’s WBC 135-pound title. The WBC recently reinstalled Haney as the WBC champion after he provided proof that his surgically repaired shoulder was healed and 100%.
Shoulder healed says Haney
“Most definitely,” said Haney to DAZN when asked if he could fight in June if asked by Eddie Hearn. “With the injury, I lost a lot of muscle mass, and making 135 is a lot easier this time around. I stopped lifting period. I felt like I was overdoing it.
“You don’t need muscles to win fights. Muscles don’t win fights. I realized that, and I’m happy that I did. I feel great. My shoulder is 100% back. I can do everything, and I can spar, train, and hit the heavy bag.
“The injury occurred during my fight. I told my dad, ‘Something is wrong with my shoulder.’ He told me to keep using my jab and keep boxing. It took more out for me to see the fighters that are my competitors and rivals. They were advancing, and I was staying the same.
“I didn’t know how my shoulder would feel and how it would react when it was time to come back. Now that I’m back, I’m happy the way things have worked out. It’s worked out in my favor.
“I’m very anxious, and I can’t wait. There are so many big fights that can be made. I just want to show the world that I’m the best 135-pounder out there.,” said Haney.
It’s a good thing that Haney feels confident that he’ll be able to stay at 135 for a while longer—considering that he lacks the punching power to fight at 140. Right now, if Haney were to move up to light-welterweight, he would need to contend with the likes of Josh Taylor, Regis Prograis, and Jose Ramirez.
Those guys have better power than Haney; he would be forced to try and box his way to victory over them
Haney wants Ryan Garcia
“Ryan Garcia, that’s the fight that fans want to see,” said Haney when asked who’s his biggest rival. “We’re both 21-year-old, making crazy noise. We fought in the amateurs multiple times. Everything adds up, and it makes it a huge fight. I beat him every time. Don’t believe anything he says.
“All of the fights were competitive. None of the fights were easy. Ryan has always been good, and I’m not surprised at the noise he’s making. The people that ask me about him, I always say he’s good. I know his crazy amateur experience in winning national titles. I know one day that he’d be big.
“Fans love knockouts,” said Haney. “You can show 12 rounds of superior boxing, but there’s nothing like a knockout. You go in there and knock a guy out, and you gain fans. There’s no way around it.
“Of course, you want to take a chance to get a knockout. You’ve got to know your opponent. Not every fight is going to be a knockout. Not every fight is going to be pretty, but as long as you get the win. That’s more important.,” said Haney.
It’s reasonable to assume that we won’t see Haney and Ryan Garcia fight for another three to six years due to Golden Boy Promotions wanting to let the clash marinate.
Although Haney’s old school promoter Eddie Hearn would probably make the fight with Ryan Garcia in a second, his promoters at Golden Boy won’t be as eager. When that fight does happen, it could be a huge one. However, there’s also a chance that the decision to let the Haney vs. Ryan fight marinate could backfire with one or both of these fighters getting beaten.
Haney seems to have a more well-rounded game than Ryan, but it’s not a good sign that he’s already suffering shoulder injuries at this early stage in his career. Ryan and Haney are talented fighters, but we know whether they’ll have staying power at 135.
Reaction to his comments surprised Haney
“The correct thing to say was, ‘I wouldn’t lose to anybody,'” said Haney in addressing the comment that he made recently about how he would ‘Never lose to a white guy.’ “You live, and you learn. I’m young, and I understand what I said wasn’t the correct thing to say. But I don’t feel that I would lose to any fighter.
“I was surprised how some of the fans were trying to portray me as someone that is racist, which is not the case at all. My siblings are half white, half black. And my younger brother and sister.
“My stepmom is white. My whole team is diverse. I don’t discriminate. I’m not racist at all. So that was definitely surprising, and I didn’t expect that at all, but what can you do about it?” said Haney.
The comment that Haney made recently put him in the spotlight in a negative sense, and it’s going to take time for him to make boxing fans forget about it. Moving forward, Haney will need to be careful when giving interviews.
If he can’t control what comes out of his mouth, he would be better off having his trainer or promoter do all the interviewing for him.
Younger talents are always springing up, and both of them could mess up their chances of hitting it big if they wait too long to make the important fights.
Haney discusses fighting without fans
“That would be crazy,” said Haney in talking about fighting without fans. “I would fight in a backyard; I would. I’m a fighter, and I would fight. It would be like sparring. It would be somewhat like sparring. But for the money, it would go on paper. But I feel like I may fight better.
“You never know. We’ll see. But I’m ready to fight wherever it is, and I’d be willing to fight anybody,” said Haney.
For the time being, Haney and a lot of fighters may need to fight without fans present. It’s good that Haney doesn’t have a negative view of fighting behind closed doors. If he resistant to the idea, then he could end up sitting potentially for a long time waiting for the pandemic to end.
Devin expects to fight in July
“I talked to Eddie Hearn today, and we definitely have some big fights on our agenda,” said Haney. “We’re trying to make the biggest fights possible. Of course, with this pandemic, we don’t know when they’re going to happen.
“But when the time comes, big fights are on our agenda. We’re waiting to see [who’s next]. He doesn’t know nothing,” said Haney about Hearn not knowing who he’ll be fighting next.
“We’re looking at some time in July, but we don’t know. I have a gym in my house, so that’s where I could spar. Anybody could spar. You could spar outside if you needed to.
“Every day, I’m checking to see if there’s an announcement if they’re going to let Vegas go out,” said Haney. “Every day I’m checking it. I can’t wait,” said Haney.
Being able to fight behind closed doors will enable Haney to keep his career moving while they wait for a vaccine to deal with the pandemic. The only problem with fights behind closed doors is that it’ll limit the fights that can be made for Haney.
He won’t be able to face any of the super-popular fighters in boxing behind closed doors because the important gate money would be lost in doing that.
