Devin Haney could move to 140 to face Mikey Garcia or Regis Prograis

By Boxing News - 08/02/2021 - Comments

By Jeff Aronow: Eddie Hearn is upset that his fighter WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney has been shut out of all the best fights at 135, and he says he could move up to 140 to face Mikey Garcia and/or Regis Prograis.

Mikey hasn’t fought in a year and a half, and he might be interested in facing Haney if he can get a good payday out of it as he did against Jessie Vargas.

It’s unclear whether Hearn can afford Mikey’s price tag, though, because this is a guy that made a bundle in his PPV clash with Errol Spence Jr in 2019.

Assuming Hearn can put the deal together, Haney vs. Mikey Garcia would be an excellent match-up.

Mikey & Prograis will be dangerous for Haney

“I think that Jojo Diaz will give up his mandatory position. And I think he will fight Ryan Garcia,” said Eddie Hearn to the DAZN Boxing Show.

“We need one of those top guys at 135,” he said. “Because sooner or later, you know, we got to make a move with Devin Haney in terms of the big fights.

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“And that might even be moving into 140. You know, it’s that fight with Mikey Garcia or Regis Prograis.”

Former WBA light welterweight champion Prograis (26-1, 22 KOs) would be a dangerous fight for the light-hitting Haney right now. We just saw Linares hurt Haney multiple times last May, causing him to stall out the entire second half of the fight.

That was like a college basketball team stalling the clock after getting a big lead. Haney was done for the night, getting hurt every time Linares hit him cleanly.

What was troubling about the fight was how a sheepish-looking Haney was asking Linares after the contest about his power compared to Vasily Lomachenko’s. You could tell that Linares was trying to make Haney feel better about himself, as he was clearly deflated mentally after the way he’d performed.

If Haney can’t handle the power of Linares, he’s probably not going to handle Prograis’ punches any better. Prograis punches hard with either hand, and he would be a dangerous fight for Haney.

Image: Devin Haney could move to 140 to face Mikey Garcia or Regis Prograis

The upside Haney against Prograis or Mikey would be tremendous. If Haney can beat either one of those guys, his career would shoot through the roof.

But on the flip side, if Haney gets hurt again, I don’t think he’s going to be able to survive against Prograis or Mikey by holding excessively as he did against Linares. Those guys would continue to punch while being held, and Haney might end up getting knocked out.

Haney being ignored by top fighters

The popular fighters at 135 have given the 22-year-old Haney the cold shoulder, ignoring him and treating him like a mere bottom-dweller fringe contender rather than the WBC lightweight champion.

Hearn is flabbergasted at trying to understand WHY the top guys like Ryan Garcia, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, Teofimo Lopez, and now Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz Jr have shown no interest in facing Haney.

It could come down to Haney’s personality or lack thereof and his less than exciting Mayweather-esque fighting style.

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For example, in Haney’s last fight against Jorge Linares on May 29th, he spent virtually the entire second half of the bout holding onto him, running out the clock for the last six rounds.

It was like watching paint dry during the afternoon sun in terms of entertainment value, and this is a guy that Hearn believes is the #1 fighter at 135.

Haney cannot afford to fight like that if he wants the big names to fight him because his popularity has flatlined in his last three contests against Linares, Yuriorkis Gamboa, and Alfredo Santiago.

Haney (26-0, 15 KOs) is ready to face all the big names at 135 and now apparently at 140.

Last month, Matchroom Boxing promoter Hearn was excited after watching former IBF super featherweight champion Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz Jr defeat Javier Fortuna by a 12 round unanimous decision in a WBC lightweight title eliminator.

However, immediately after winning the fight, Jo Jo Diaz shockingly called out Ryan Garcia rather than Haney. It was so laughable. It’s like Diaz Jr could care less that he’d just beaten Fortuna in a WBC title eliminator. He wanted the big game, Ryan Garcia, instead of the smaller fight with Haney.

“You know, we’re in talks for that fight,” said Hearn about Haney fighting Prograis or Mikey. “I love Devin against those guys as well. But he’s ready. He’s ready to fight all those guys,” said Hearn about Haney, prepared to take on Mikey or Prograis.