By Allan Fox: Devin Haney was dismissive of unbeaten contender Frank Martin, calling him “old” after learning he wants to challenge him for his undisputed lightweight championship.
For the record, Martin (17-0, 12 KOs) is 28 years old and ranked #2 WBA, and in a position to soon challenge for a world title following his lopsided 12-round unanimous victory over Michel Rivera last December.
It was a masterclass performance from ‘The Ghost’ Martin, with him dominating the talented Rivera, winning by the scores 120-107, 117-110, and 118-109.
“He old as s**t. He should be,” said Devin Haney on social media, reacting to Frank Martin saying he wants to fight him.
It’s unknown why it caused Haney to be upset and devalue Frank Martin as a worthy challenger for him because 28 isn’t considered old. Moreover, Martin is only four years older than the 24-year-old Haney.
One logical explanation for why Haney calls Martin “old” is that he could view him as a threat and doesn’t wish to fight him for fear that he might lose.
That would wreck Haney’s hopes of getting fights against Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson, and Ryan Garcia. Those are three fighters that Haney has mentioned wanting to fight.
Martin would be a massive upgrade to the Haney’s recent fights against George Kambosos Jr, Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz, and Jorge Linares.
Unfortunately for Martin, he’s not ranked high enough to force a fight against Haney, and by the time he is in a position to force a title shot as a mandatory, Devin will likely have moved up to 140.
Martin’s best bet for a title shot is to wait until Haney vacates or loses his belts to Taank Davis or Shakur and then go after whoever holds the belts.
WBA ‘regular’ 135-lb champion Tank Davis should give Martin a title shot because both are with PBC, so it makes sense for that match-up to take place. Tank is very selective in who he fights, so he might not be willing to risk suffering a loss against a talented fighter like Martin.
“Whoever gives me the opportunity. I’m not ducking nobody. I‘m ready for them right now,” said Martin to Fighthype.
Martin might have scared away Haney and Gervonta with his win over Rivera. Those guys aren’t going to be eager to mix it up with him and wind up in the same boat.
