Eddie Hearn predicts fans will see a “bigger & stronger” version of former undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney as he attempts to become a two-division world champion this Saturday night, on December 9th, in his fight against WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis.
Hearn is over the moon about the ticket sales for the Chase Center in San Francisco and believes the venue could be sold out by Saturday, December 9th, for the Haney vs. Prograis event, which will be shown live on DAZN for $74.99 for non-subscribers and $59.99 for subscribers.
The way that Hearn appears to be actively rooting for Haney, it seems evident that he’s hoping he comes out victorious over his fighter Prograis (29-1, 24 KOs).
What if Haney loses?
It’s interesting the way that Hearn abandoned Regis’ sinking ship after one poor performance against Danielito Zorrilla last summer on June 17th in New Orleans.
Will Hearn jump overboard from the Haney ship if gets trounced by Prograis on Saturday night? Probably. The 25-year-old Haney will be given the bums rush by Hearn in the same way the 34-year-old Prograis is getting it now. The swooning over Regis will begin again by Eddie, and be hilarious the watch him give Devin the cold shoulder.
Haney is coming off of back-to-back victories over Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos at lightweight to become undisputed, and now he wants to capture a belt at light welterweight before moving up to 147 to try and become a three-division world champion.
Some believe that the welterweight-sized Haney is making a mistake by not acclimatizing himself at 140 before taking on the hard-hitting Prograis, as this is a different kettle of fish to the weaker punchers he’s been feasting on at 135.
Is Regis Prograis a step too far for Haney?
Prograis hits harder and more of a straight-up killer than the finesse-level fighters that Haney has been facing during his eight-year professional career.
“Bigger and stronger at 140, Devin Haney attempts to become a two-division champion in San Francisco this Saturday live on DAZN,” said promoter Eddie Hearn on social media. “We are heading for a sellout @chase center.”
There’s a lot of interest from Bay Arena fans in Northern California to watch San Franciso native Haney make his long-awaited homecoming at the Chase Center, so it’s possible that the venue could sell out by Saturday.
That said, Haney will be under a lot of pressure not to ruin his homecoming by fighting in his usual dull punch & grab style that he’s become known for.
If Haney wants to impress the Bay Area fans, he needs to at least try and make it entertaining by standing in front to Prograis and punching with him. If Haney gets knocked out, he’ll make it fun for his fans in San Francsco, who are wealthy like him.
Haney’s problems with Lomachenko last June suggest that he’s heading for trouble on Saturday night against Regis and is heading for deep water that he’s not sea-worthy.
Hearn on cloud nine over ticket sales for Haney-Prograis
“I know we’ve done Canelo, and we’ve done big fights, but to do Haney-Prograis and do 14,000, 15,000 at the Chase Center, that’s massive for us, and the numbers have been huge, like our face-off and stuff like that,” said Hearn to iFL TV.
“The build-up is going to be an eclectic week in San Francisco. It’s a great fight. I’m looking to it. Devin is from the Bay Area. They’ve never had a fight at the Chase Center.
“There’s no history, no numbers, no analytics to tell us what’s right and what’s wrong, and we’ve rolled the dice and had it right off. So, get ready for a massive show this Saturday,” said Hearn.
Haney is taking a gamble, believing that he can move up to 140 and have the same success in this weight class as he did at 135.
Devin has picked the second weakest of the four champions in 34-year-old Prograis to give himself his best chance of accomplishing his goal.
Devin will be forced to move up to 147
If Haney wins, he’s already planning on giving up the WBC 140-lb title in a catch & release manner and moving up to 147 to try to become a three-division world champion.
This has less to do with Haney’s ambition and more about his huge size, as he’s even too big for the 140-lb division.
Making weight at 135 was killing Haney, but he’s not going to be much better off draining down to 140 because that will also be a formidable task for him. Haney will be moving up to 147 out of necessity, not because he’s trying to shape his legacy.
The guy is enormous, even for 140, and he won’t risk taking on the killers in the division in a semi-drained state and getting pummeled into the earth. Can you imagine what Subriel Matias would do to Haney if he fought him, looking weak & frail from making weight at 140?
It wouldn’t be fair. When Haney moves up to 147, he can pick off the old balding, toothless lion, Keith Thurman to capture one of the stripped belts that Terence Crawford had sitting on without defending.
