By Matt Lieberman: Tim Bradley says he wants to see Devin Haney take on Vasily Lomachenko or Masayoshi Nakatani next to start building his brand slowly.
Bradley feels that WBC lightweight champion Haney (25-0, 15 KOs) has never faced a B-level fighter before, and he wants to see him in with Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs) or Nakatani.
Tim thinks it’s still too early for Haney and undisputed champion Teofimo Lopez to fight because neither of them is household names. the fight needs to build for another year or two to maximize the money.
Haney, 22, has a different perspective in how he wants to run his career from the way Bradley would like to see him do it.
Devin feels that he wants to fight the best right now, which is why he’s calling out Teofimo (16-0, 12 KOs) at every opportunity.
The glacial slow ‘play it safe’ way of match-making that Bradley endorses would have fit during a different era, but things are different now with the pandemic.
Boxing needs big fights right away, not two to five years from now. Letting important fights marinate in this era will cripple the sport, leading to UFC greatly surpassing it.
Devin Haney should fight Vasily Lomachenko
“Haney, I understand you won a world championship, but there’s a guy out there that you can face right now that has a great name, and he lost to Teofimo,” said Tim Bradley to Fighthype about him wanting Haney to fight Lomachenko next.
“That’s one [Masayoshi Nakatani]. Two, Lomachenko, why not? Why not Lomachenko, you know what I’m saying? I want to see you against a guy that is an A-class fighter or a B-class fighter.
“At least Nakatani. Get in there with that, and show the people what you’re all about. Dominate and win and say, ‘Hey, let’s go. I’m ready whenever you are.’
Going back to Teo; these guys are young, all these guys. Ryan Garcia, Haney, keep building, become a household name, and then fight each other.
“It’s the nature of the business. If I was in the same position, that’s what I would do. Maybe in a few more years or another year or so, Haney, fight this guy or that guy. ‘I’m getting more notoriety, people are starting to get to know me more, I’m getting more popular.’
“Once this pandemic is over and you can actually put people in the stands, that’s important for a promoter,” said Bradley.
There are some who feel that Teofimo is ducking the rematch with Lomachenko after barely beating last October when he was injured.
Now that Lomachenko has had surgery, Teofimo wants nothing to do with him. Some fans feel that Teofimo is afraid, and it’s hard not to see their point.
Lomachenko’s promoter Bob Arum has already said that he plans on matching him against Nakatani next in the spring.
If Haney is to get a fight against Loma, he’ll have to wait until the fall. In the meantime, it would be excellent if Teofimo chose to fight him for the good of the sport.
Bradley picks Teofimo over Haney
“It’s a great fight,” said Bradley about a fight between Haney and Teofimo Lopez.
“Haney can box his butt off, but Teo fought against the best fighter in boxing, a southpaw, and he was able to out-think him,” said Bradley about Teofimo beating injured Lomachenko.
“So I think he has the ability to outthink a fighter of Haney’s class. I think he has the punching power to go along with that, and I feel he’s fought the better competition out of the two.
“So I would favor Lopez in that fight, even though Haney is a great talent and he does bring a lot to the table, and he is very defensively sound.
“He’s long and a great mover. But if you’re fighting a champion in the sport, and you’re moving around a whole heck of a lot, and you’ve got a guy that is pressing forward with punching power like a guy like Teo that can catch you in different spots, you’re going to lose that fight.
“You’re going to lose a decision, bro. It is what it is. I would favor Lopez in the fight.
“Haney is a tremendous talent. He had a guy in Gamboa that he went the distance with that he should have clearly got rid of him, but he didn’t,” Bradley said.
The blueprint on how to beat Teofimo was created already by Lomachenko, and it’s likely Haney will follow it to the letter. Maybe that’s why Teofimo is showing signs of reluctance to fight him too.
Bradley: Haney lacks an identity
“All these guys in this weight class at 135,” said Tim. “Ryan, all these guys, I’m going to give you some advice.
“Stop calling guys out. You got to understand, you want to be hunted. You want these guys to hunt you.
“All these guys will hunt you. That’s how you market yourself. You’re the A-side, you’re the dog. Keep building your resume.
“These kids [at 135], they want things so fast, Why? You’re only 23-years-old. Come on, you’re not even in your prime yet.
“Let me tell you one thing more about Haney,” Bradley continued on his rant about Devin. “To me, he doesn’t have an identity.
“Yeah, he’s a good boxer, but all these trainer switches and everything. Now his dad is gone now. Now who is he going to be with?
“In watching him perform over the years, has he grew as a fighter? His confidence has grew, but as far as his ability and style, it’s the same.
“You see the same thing over and over. When the time is right for everybody.
“When this thing ends with COVID, when the dust settles, then we can have these fights. But right now, chill,” said Bradley.
Haney does have an identity. He’s like another Floyd Mayweather Jr, and he’s shown great talent since turning pro.
The 4 Kings shouldn’t fight each other yet
“What I would do is fight my title eliminator, and keep my strap,” said Bradley on what he would do if he were Teofimo Lopez. “That’s what Teo is going to do.
“As far Haney goes, as far as all these other guys, these guys have got to understand that they’re young. They’re not even in their primes yet.
“They are with different entities, different sides of the street, whatever you want to call it. With a promoter, I’m not saying he [Teofimo] can’t beat Haney, but there are risks.
“They want to protect their assets, think about that. Continue to build, he’s not a household name yet. Haney is still climbing. Haney has yet to fight a B-class opponent.
“Keep letting him build, and build up a fight. To me, two years from now, a year from now, with these guys continuing to showcase their talent and the fans get to know them, instead of it being a two to three million dollar fight or five million fight, it’s a fifteen million fight.
“That’s the way the business of boxing goes. We haven’t seen that much from Teofimo Lopez other than him beating Lomachenko.
“The fight fans want to see the big fights and they want to see them now. It’s different when you have different promoters and they’re trying to protect their assets,” said Bradley.
What Bradley is talking about wanting the Four Kings to do in terms of letting their fights marinate, it a bad idea right now.
They’re all better off fighting now to build their star power quickly, and to keep fans paying attention to boxing.