Eddie Hearn expects Devin Haney to have three massive fights in 2024 against big names that will increase his star power. First, he sees Ryan Garcia facing WBC 140-lb champion Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) in March or April.
(Photo credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.)
Hearn will have to do some convincing with Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) and his promoter Oscar De La Hoya to take the fight with Haney next because they appear to be focusing on facing WBA 140-lb champion Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero next in early 2024, then Kingry second.
With the fight money offer from Hearn, Ryan could be persuaded to take Haney next over Rolly. Ryan-Rolly isn’t one that would bring in a lot of PPV buys on DAZN, and the risk would still be significant for Ryan, even though Rolly is viewed as beatable.
The fighters on Hearn’s target list for Haney in 2024:
- Ryan Garcia – March/April: The easiest fight to make of the three due to Ryan & Haney both being on the same platform, DAZN. This is a fight that would generate a lot of money on PPV and the gate, particularly if it’s staged in San Francisco at the Chase Center, where Devin sold out last Saturday against Regis Prograis.
- Teofimo Lopez – June/July: It would be a unification fight. Teofimo holds the WBO title and is eager to get the big paydays that have thus far eluded him. He has a bit of a chip on his shoulder, seeing other fighters like Ryan Garcia get a $30 million payday, and he’s not enjoyed the same kind of money.
- Gervonta Davis – November/December: Haney would have to change his fighting style dramatically to entice Gervonta to fight him. He’s probably not going to be eager to fight a mover.
Provided Haney wins those three fights next year, Hearn likes the idea of Devin fighting Terence Crawford if he decides to move up to 147. It wouldn’t happen right away when Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) moves up to welterweight because that’s not the type of fight you take when you first settle into a division.
Hearn thinks Haney’s power will increase when he moves up to 147, but he’s not sure how he’ll be able to handle the strength of the fighters in that weight class.
Gaining would be one thing, but could Haney take the shots from the fighters at 147? He could if he was steered away from fighters with power like Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, Crawford, Keith Thurman, and Roiman Villa.
No one beats Haney at 140
“The kid is so young. He’s gone to Australia, he’s beaten Kambosos, and he’s beaten Lomachenko. I know it was a close fight, but he really schooled Regis Prograis,” said Eddie Hearn to Fight Hub TV, talking about Devin Haney.
“I could see him going to 147, winning world titles there. I don’t see anyone at 140 that beats him. His speed of foot and movement, Regis just couldn’t set. People say, ‘Regis should have thrown more.’ He was trying to get there to throw, and every time he goes to get there, Devin is over here, hitting him with three shots.”
Hopefully, Haney sticks around at 140 to face all the big names, and doesn’t move up after fighting Ryan or Teofimo. Hardcore boxing fans want to see Haney stay at light welterweight long enough to fight IBF champion Subriel Matias in a unification. He’s seen as a bigger threat to Haney than Ryan or Teofimo.
“I really like Regis’ honesty after the fight. ‘I couldn’t believe how good he was.’ You couldn’t say anything more than that. That’s the truth. When you look at Bill [Haney] and you look at [Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard] Ellerbe or if he’s even involved or Tank and the coaches, I feel like that’s a long way away that fight,” said Hearn about a clash between Haney and Gervonta Davis.
“Generally, when a super fight gets made, there’s a couple of conversations between the teams or the networks. Obviously, there’s two different networks there. I think it’s a great fight and one we could look forward to, but for me, I look at the Ryan Garcia fight. We should be making it like that.”
Hearn appears to be talking down the idea of Haney fighting Gervonta, but he could be right. It’s a difficult one to make because Gervonta has been shielded by his management, who clearly see they’ve got a good thing with him and don’t want to wreck it. If Tank Davis’ career falls apart, Mayweather Promotions and PBC don’t have anyone to replace him at 135.
Does Ryan Garcia care about belts or money?
“Both guys [Haney & Ryan] are with DAZN. Ryan should be wanting that fight and should be wanting to challenge for belts at 140,” said Hearn. “I think Ryan and Golden Boy might look at Devin and say, ‘Okay, not as big a puncher as Tank maybe. I know he’s got great movement, but I think we can win that fight.’
“I think that’s the fight to make, I really do, especially when you talk about the speed of making a fight like that. I can’t see the others getting together at pace in making that fight.”
One reason why Golden Boy would want to hold off on making the Haney vs. Garcia fight next is the way Ryan looked against Oscar Duarte on December 2nd.
He showed that his boxing fundamentals were off and in need of development. Haney is so far advanced compared to Ryan, and fighting would be an unwinnable fight. If there wasn’t the possibility of a rematch with Tank Davis over the horizon for Ryan, he’d probably take the fight with Haney next. Given the current situation, he probably won’t want to take that risk for a fight that he has little chance of winning.
“Not yet. That comes from DAZN,” said Hearn when asked if he knew what the PPV numbers were for last weekend’s Haney vs. Prograis fight. “I think the best way to describe it as is ‘very solid.’ It’s probably on the smaller end of PPVs, but I’m pleased that it’s going to be.
“I don’t know what the final numbers are for Lomachenko [vs. Haney], but I’m pleased that it’s going to be in that range for a fight on DAZN, and arguably a smaller fight than the Lomachenko fight. So, I’m very pleased with the number.”
The PPV numbers for Haney vs. Prograis on DAZN probably weren’t out of this world huge because there wasn’t a great undercard, and Regis wasn’t the guy fans wanted to see Devin fight. Prograis’ previous fight against Danielito Zorrilla left a bad impression on the hardcore boxing fans that saw the bout, and casuals weren’t familiar with him.
“When you fight in early December like he did, sometimes you saw March or April is your date, and you had Christmas to recover,” said Hearn when asked when he expects Haney to fight next.
“The kid is a consummate professional. He’s always fit and strong and well. I think he has a really good chance to have three fights next year. Three big championship fights.
“One in March or April, then one in June or July, whenever it is, and then one in November or December. That would be a great year for him. I think you really have to say he’s ‘Fighter of the Year.’
“When you go into 2024, I think he’s going to be right up there again because you know he’s going to be in the big fights. He’s not interested in fighting defenses or voluntary defenses. He wants the biggest fights out there.”
If Haney isn’t interested in title defenses at 140, he’ll have to vacate his WBC because his mandatory, Sandor Martin, is due now. The World Boxing Council likely won’t allow Haney to swerve Sandor unless a step aside deal is made.
Haney has the size to fight at 147
“You could see his year look like, Ryan Garcia, Teofimo Lopez, Tank Davis,” said Hearn about Haney. “We got the next fight [with Haney signed with Matchroom Boxing]. I think now that he’s a draw, I expect him to end his career with us. Hopefully, we can work together for a long time.
“Look at the size of Devin. He looked like a bigger weight class than Regis, and Devin was coming up to 140. I see him fighting at 147, no problem. I think he’s going to be stronger at that weight, I think he’s going to punch harder as well.”
Haney is obviously a welterweight in size, but can still melt down to 140 to make weight for that division. If Crawford leaves the 147-lb division, there won’t be anyone for Haney to fight other than Keith Thurman and Jaron Ennis.
Those would be hard fights for Haney. Thurman is as old as the hills, but he can still punch and make Haney miserable if he lands something big.
“You saw that even at 140. He was stronger and hitting harder. I think he’ll be more robust. I think once you start moving up to 147, you’re in with bigger guys that can punch really hard as well,” said Hearn.
“What a match-up, Terence Crawford against Devin Haney. It’s a tremendous fight. You always want to settle yourself into a weight class, and you’re not really settling yourself in against Terence Crawford,” said Hearn on whether Haney would want to jump up to 147 and take on Crawford in his first fight.
It’s unlikely that Haney will move up to 147 in time to fight Crawford before he retires because he’s not going to be around two or three years from now to face him if he chooses to wait that long before moving up.
“I think Devin has big plans and big belief in himself, and he wants to fight the very best. He never wanted the fight before, and Devin said this recently,” said Hearn about Ryan Garcia never wanting to fight Haney in the past.
“Until he [Haney] started selling out arenas and doing numbers and beating Lomachenko, we were calling for the Ryan Garcia fight well before the Kambosos fight. If Oscar [De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions] will take the challenge and Ryan will take the challenge, and I believe they might do, we’d love to get it made as soon as possible,” said Hearn about wanting to make Haney vs. Ryan Garcia fight.
It doesn’t seem feasible that Ryan Garica will take the fight with Haney. If Haney had looked vulnerable against Regis Prograis last Saturday, gotten dropped a couple of times, buzzed, and barely won, Ryan probably would face him in 2024. But with the one-sided nature of the Haney-Prograis bout and the way that Devin limited Prograis to only 36 punches landed, Ryan isn’t going to want to fight him.
Haney has transformed his style and is now fighting just like Shakur Stevenson, moving constantly, focusing on defense, and not allowing his opponents to hit him. That’s great for him, but popular guys like Ryan, Tank and Teofimo don’t want to fight guys like that.
