Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn believes that Devin Haney will punch harder for his fight against WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis on Saturday night live on DAZN because he’s not forced to lose water weight to get down to 135 like he’d been doing his entire career.
Although it’s only five pounds from 135 to 140, Hearn thinks Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) will punch with more authority and surprise people.
Haney doesn’t look any stronger
In the workout clips of the 25-year-old Haney, his shots don’t look any more powerful than they were at 135. But even if they do have more sting on them, it would be risky for Haney to stand in front of Prograis (29-1, 24 KOs), fighting his fight and trying to beat him at his own game.
It would make for a more exciting contest if Haney tries to punch with Prograis, but it might not end well for him, and he could regret it afterward if he gets knocked out.
Hearn is pleased with how the two press conferences have gone for the Haney vs. Prograis fight, and he likes the way Regis’ strength coach Evins Tobler ruffled feathers on stage with his trash talk.
Haney will puncher harder at 140
“People are underestimating because Devin Haney will punch harder at 140. Don’t forget the stress that he put on his body to make 135 was brutal,” said Eddie Hearn to Fight Hub TV about his belief that Haney will have more power for his fight against Regis Prograis on Saturday.
Haney likely won’t be any more powerful than he has in the past, and he’ll not be able to keep Prograis off of him. He could walk through hi his shots.
“It couldn’t have gone any better. In fact, the whole show couldn’t have gone any better,” said Hearn about Thursday’s final press conference for the Haney vs. Prograis fight this Saturday night on DAZN PPV.
Bill Haney & Evins Tobler have like a comedy team, going at each other with insults and making it interesting to watch them during the press conferences. It’s too bad these two can’t be a permanent fixture at all of Hearn’s events.
“We’re going to be completely sold out in San Francisco,” said Hearn about the Chase Center. “We’re going to do massive numbers. We’ve got a great fight. Credit to all the guys. They’ve entertained people at the press conferences. The content has been fantastic, the promos, everything. We’ve got a massive fight on Saturday.”
Surprisingly, the California natives have purchased tickets in high numbers because Haney moved away from the Bay Area when he was a youngster. Devin is more of a Nevada native than a Bay Area fighter.
“Evins [Tobler] is really up there. He’s not a boxer. He’s irrelevant, really. Outside of strength & conditioning, he’s irrelevant, but he’s the guy they’ve sent up there to ruffle feathers, to entertain, and to sit with Regis,” said Hearn.
“Bobby Benton is an amazing boxing coach, but he’s a pretty quiet guy. He ain’t going to say nothing up there, so Evins has been a brilliant addition. He’s talked his stuff, but really, it’s irrelevant. What matters is when the bell goes on Saturday night and I can’t wait,” said Hearn.
It would be interesting to see how Benton would have acted if he were on the stage on Thursday, firing off insults at both Haney and Bill. Given Bill Haney’s trash-talking ability, Benton would have been overmatched; hence the need for Tobler.
In constant, the sun-glass-wearing Devin could not fire insults like his dad on Thursday, and he was mostly just repeating himself like a broken record.
Haney looked odd, wearing sunglasses, and it gave the impression that he lacked confidence in himself to be on stage without them.
Prograis’ skills underrated
“So, I think he’s going to punch harder at 140. Regis can also punch, but his boxing skills are also underrated. I think it’s a brilliant match-up. I’m expecting a great crowd and great anticipation,” said Hearn.
Prograis can definitely punch, but whether he can land his shots is the major question. He couldn’t get to his last opponent, Danielito Zorrilla, that often last June, and he came close to losing the fight. If Haney is moving around all night, Prograis will be lucky if he lands more than 50 shots.
“I think that’s been the story of this promotion from the first press conference to today to tomorrow. The anticipation for the fight. We’ve seen that translated across ticket sales, we’ve seen that translated across social and digital numbers, and yeah, I’m really excited for Saturday,” said Hearn.
Haney has done an excellent job of creating interest in the fight with his social media presence and the many interviews that he did. It would have been better if he had been a little more prepared for the press conferences and some of the interviews because he was repeating himself a lot.
