Devin Haney calls out Oscar De La Hoya for catchweight fight

By Boxing News - 09/27/2021 - Comments

By Huck Allen: WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney has called out boxing great Oscar De La Hoya for a catchweight fight. Haney (26-0, 15 KOs), who is frustrated by his two mandatory challengers Ryan Ryan Garcia and Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz Jr., choosing not to fight him, now has turned his attention to 48-year-old De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs).

De La Hoya is considerably bigger and taller than the 22-year-old Haney, and obviously, there would be no way to find a catchweight that would make this a fair fight.

Ryan Garcia and ‘Jo Jo Diaz are with De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions company, and Haney feels that he’s been ducked by both of those guys.

Devin needs fighters like Ryan and Jo Jo to take his career to the next level, but they’ve decided to fight each other instead. From Ryan and Diaz’s perspective, they want the most money possible, and it makes more sense for them to fight each other than Haney.

Haney’s promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, is also frustrated at Ryan and Jo Jo choosing not to use their mandatory status to fight Devin. Hearn is now looking for an opponent for Haney to fight, and the options aren’t great, unfortunately.

Haney calls out De La Hoya

I don’t think Haney is serious about calling out De La Hoya, but it would be an exciting fight if it did take place.

Considering how much bigger and older De La Hoya is than Haney, the boxing public would likely view it as a celebrity type of fight rather than a serious one. It would be categorized as an Evander Holyfield vs. Victor Belfort type of match-up.

Image: Devin Haney calls out Oscar De La Hoya for catchweight fight

“This is what I said in my past interviews. Ryan Garcia was going to find a way to duck,” said Devin Haney to Behind The Gloves. “He was going to find a way to maneuver his way out of the mandatory position.

“Jo Jo Diaz, he found a way to maneuver and do what he does,”  Haney continued. “This is the first time in history, and I said this after the Ryan  – Luke Campbell fight, that guys fight for the mandatory position and not want to fight the champion.

Haney upset at being ducked

“What’s the point of fighting for a mandatory position? That just shows what kind of threat I am and how much I bring to the table,” said Haney.  “Now that the boxing experts and the people are starting to realize what it really is.

“You can become a champion and make more money than you ever made before. It’s going to be the biggest platform that you ever had before.

“So it’s like, why not want to fight me unless you felt you were going to lose? That would be the only reason not to fight me because you gain everything from the fight,” said Devin in questioning WHY Ryan Garcia and Joseph Diaz Jr. wouldn’t take advantage of their mandatory status to challenge him for his WBC title.

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