By Jim Calfa: Undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney posted a picture of himself sitting on a king’s throne with the top 135-pounders looking on as if being underneath him as royal subjects.
Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) is supposed to be moving up to 140 and giving vacating, so it’s unclear why he’s posting a picture of himself sitting in a King’s chair in front of the top talents from the 135-lb division.
Interestingly, several of the fighters in Haney’s Instagram picture would likely beat him, provided the judging crew was quality and not a mixed bag of judges with a long history of turning in oddball scores.
Could it be that Haney has had a change of mind and will stay at lightweight a little while longer to get big paydays against Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson? Tank Davis’ trainer Calvin Ford wants him to fight Haney next.
So if he’s got any ability to persuade Tank, that could be an option. However, the negotiations could be problematic because Tank, as the A-side, could want a rehydration clause and a bigger split.
If Haney moves up to 140, as he’s talked about, he’s likely to get destroyed quickly, and his career as a major player go down the train almost overnight.
Haney lacks the power and chin to compete with the top dogs at 140, like Regis Prograis and Subriel Matias. Teofimo Lopez is retired, but you could add him as being too much for Haney if he wasn’t.
Haney’s dad/manager Bill Haney met with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum this week to discuss three options he has for him involving these fighters:
– Vasyl Lomachenko
– Teofimo Lopez
– Shakur Stevenson
It would be worthwhile for Haney to fight a rematch with Lomachenko because his recent controversial 12 round decision last May hurt his popularity, with the boxing world seeing him as having lost that fight.
Lomachenko is someone that Haney has the best chance of beating compared to the many fighters in his Instagram picture from today. Haney will probably not beat Shakur Stevenson, Teofimo, Gervonta, or Frank Martin. You can throw in some other lightweight contenders, like Keyshawn Davis, William Zepeda, and Raymond Muratalla, as too good.
If Haney does move up to 140, he will need to focus on beatable guys like Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero and Ryan Garcia because he’s arguably too weak to face the big hitters.
