By Sean Jones: Devin Haney predicts an “easy” win for #2 WBO, #3 WBC lightweight contender Ryan Garcia over Luke Campbell next month on December 5th on DAZN.
WBC 135-lb champion Haney feels that Ryan (20-0, 17 KOs) will go in there and make it look easy in defeating the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Campbell (20-3, 16 KOs).
Golden Boy’s future rides on Ryan Garcia’s shoulders
For Golden Boy Promotions, they’ve got to hope that the 22-year-old King Ryan doesn’t lose to Campbell because the company’s future rests on his shoulders.
Now that Canelo Alvarez has left Golden Boy, Ryan is the best hope they have for one of their fighters becoming the next superstar.
Golden Boy does have several talented fighters like Vergil Ortiz Jr and Jaime Munguia. Still, only Ryan Garcia moves the needle and carries the potential to become another Canelo-like mega-star.
Campbell, 33, is an excellent fighter, but Ryan shouldn’t lose to him if he’s the real deal. The other top lightweights, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, Haney, and Teofimo Lopez would all likely defeat Campbell.
So if Ryan wants to be included in that company of fighters, he must pass his test against Campbell on December 5th.
Having Ryan Garcia on golden Boy’s roster will help attract other fighters, as long as his career is successful.
Ryan Garcia beats Campbell easy, predicts Haney
“I think that’s a good fight,” said Haney to The AK & Barak Show when asked about his thoughts on the Ryan Garcia vs. Luke Campbell fight. “I think Ryan will go in there and make the fight pretty easy.
“I can’t say one. They’re all tough,” said Haney when asked who is the toughest at 135 for him. “Styles make fights.
“You never know until you get in there. I can’t say one. I don’t know. It’s different when you get in there. Ryan,” Haney said when asked, ‘who would be the easiest for him at 135?’
Campbell is an advanced fighter with a lot of experience at the pro and amateur level, and Ryan might not be ready for a seasoned vet like him.
Luke’s promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, believes that Golden Boy Promotions are making a massive mistake in letting Ryan take this fight. Hearn is almost gleeful with his happiness about Campbell facing King Ryan.
It’s a fight that Hearn believes that Campbell will definitely win, and that’ll increase his value for bigger fights. If Hearn is right, Golden Boy Promotions and their boss Oscar De La Hoya will b up the creek without a paddle.
Ryan is counting n being able to land one of his powerful left hooks on Campbell’s chin on December 5th. He’s going to b attempting to set Campbell up the same way he’s done with his recent opponents Francisco Fonseca, Romero Duno, and Jose Lopez.
Devin not ready to move up to 140
“When I see there are big fights at 140. I could go up to 140 now and be comfortable and make the weight easy,” Haney said when asked when he feels it’ll time for him to move out of the 135-lb division.
But there’s really not that many big fights there. At 135, is all the smoke, though. When I see there are big fights at 140, then I’ll go there,” said Haney.
Even if Devin Haney (24-0,15 KOs) did give up his WBA lightweight title and move up to 140, he’d have a hard time getting a title shot against the Top Rank promoted IBF/WBA champ Josh Taylor and WBC/WBO champion Jose Ramirez.
Haney knows that his options would be next to zero at 140, which is why he’s not going to move up in eight. The light-welterweight division will be almost barren of talent once Ramirez and Taylor both move up to 147.
Haney’s best chance of making money is for him to remain 135 as long as possible and hope that he’s got the talent to defeat the top guys.
Unfortunately for Haney, there’s a good chance that IBF/WBA/WBC [Franchise]/WBO lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez will soon move up in weight to 140 without fighting him.
While that’s good in a way that Teofimo will leave the lightweight division, as it’ll make it easier for Haney to dominate, but it’ll also remove a big money fight for him.
If Haney cleans out the remaining fighters at 135, he may need to follow Teofimo up to 140 if he wants to continue to make good money.
Haney not interested in Lomachenko fight
“Of course, there’s still value in the fight, but it’s like, ‘Do I even want to fight you now?'” told Haney when asked if he’s still interested in fighting Vasily Lomachenko after losing to Teofimo Lopez. “Why would I even fight you?”
Haney’s attitude about not wanting to fight Vasily Lomachenko sounds a little immature and childish. Yes, Lomachenko (14-2, 0 KOs) never looked in his direction for a fight, but it’s easy to see why.
Haney’s youth and lack of name recognition make it less important for Lomachenko to fight him.
It was better for Lomachenko to wait on Haney until he gained more popularity before fighting him, which is what he was doing. The fact that Haney doesn’t understand why Lomachenko didn’t fight him is a little troubling.
If Lomachenko had fought Haney in 2019 when Devin wanted that fight, he would have likely beaten him and gained nothing from it. When Lomachenko was healthy, and at 100%, he would have likely been too good for Haney.
If Haney is going to sulk and shut Lomachenko out, he’s going to be hurting his own career. He needs a fight against Lomachenko to become a star.
With that said, it’s still unlikely that Haney would beat Lomachenko if they fought right now, and Loma was injury-free. Maybe Haney shouldn’t fight Lomachenko because it’ll likely end badly for him.
Devin wants to beat Gamboa worse than anyone else
“I want to go in there and beat him worse than anyone has beat him,” Haney said of Gamboa. “Not only Tank but Crawford as well or whoever he’s fought, and he’s fought multiple world champions.
“I want to go in there and beat him worse and show I’m on a totally different level than anyone that we’ve fought before. So hopefully, we go in there and get the job done early. If not, we can get the job done late as well,” said Haney in talking about how he wants to beat Gamboa.
Devin should try and beat Gamboa any way he can and not get caught up in trying to “beat him worse than anyone has” because that would entail risk on his part.
Gamboa has a lot more experience than Haney, and he’s been involved in many firefights during his life against fighters with better offensive skills and power.
What Haney needs to do is fight in his Mayweather style and pick Gamboa part in a dull fight. It might not make for great entertainment, but at least Haney will get the victory and move onto the next level.
It would be better for Haney if no one had ever beaten Gamboa before because then he wouldn’t have a chip on his shoulder about wanting to batter him.
Teofimo Lopez’s WBC Franchise title isn’t real
“Stop all that cap with that fake belt. You don’t have no world title,” Haney said in sending a message to Teofimo Lopez about his WBC Franchise belt. “That’s not a WBC world title.
“Listen, if you want to make a real undisputed fight, let’s make it happen. Devin Haney,” said Haney when asked, ‘Who is the best fighter in the world right now?’
Lopez’s win over previous #1 lightweight Vasily Lomachenko has made him the new top dog in the boxing world’s eyes. Teofimo doesn’t even need a world title fr him to be recognized as the best fighter in the weight class. Just by beating the previous #1, Lomachenko, now makes him the best fighter at 135.
Teofimo’s WBC Franchise title is just as real as the WBC email title that Haney was given to him by the World Boxing Council. It burns Haney that his WBC championship status is viewed as illegitimate by Teofimo and many fans.
The way that Teofimo is frequently reminding the boxing public that Haney picked up his WBC 135-lb title through email really bothers him.
If it’s getting to Haney to where he’s getting mental about it, he should vacate the title and get ranked in the IBF, WBA, and WBO to force a fight against Teofimo.
Unfortunately for Haney, by the time he gets made the mandatory challenger for Teofimo, he’ll move up in weight without fighting him.
Haney: Teofimo will avoid me
“No, I don’t see it happening. I think he’ll avoid me and move up and try to do something else and go the opposite way,” Haney said on Teofimo Lopez, likely not fighting him.
“You have to separate the real from the fake, which is hard because guys are saying it but in reality, do they really mean it?” Haney said about some of the lightweights saying they want to fight, but they might not be serious.
“Nobody really means it because I haven’t seen any pen and paper, and I haven’t seen anybody really try to make these fights happen. We don’t know what these circumstances may be. We don’t know,” said Haney.
Teofimo was recently talking about fighting Haney next at the post-fight news conference after his win over Lomachenko. Right now, Teofimo is thinking about wanting to fight Tank Davis because of the pay-per-view potential.
Haney can improve his chances of getting a fight against Teofimo if he looks good tonight against Gamboa. If Haney struggles and wins an ugly fight like he did last November against Alfredo Santiago, that’ll hurt his chances of getting a fight against Teofimo.