Devin Haney says he wants IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias for a unification fight at 140.
Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) insists that he’s fighting the guys that nobody wants to face, and that he wants all the smoke against the champions at 140.
Thus far, fans are buying into the superhero image that Haney is trying to cultivate, not seeing through the smokescreen yet.
Haney: “I’m the Guy That Steps Up”
“I’m the guy that steps up when nobody wants to. They might need me to save the day… fight the guy that these other guys don’t want to fight. And I will,” said Haney to the media on Thursday.
Devin, 25, and his dad, Bill Haney, obviously sees something in Matias’ recent fights that makes him believe he can beat him, and it’s pretty clear what it is.
In Matias’ last fight against Shohjahon Ergashev, he was getting the stuffing beaten out of him for two rounds, looking like a punching bag against the one-armed Uzbek.
During the early going of that fight, Matias looked worse than Rolly Romero talent-wise, and was only able to hang in due to his chin. Ergashev was working him over in a one-sided manner.
It wasn’t until Ergashev started having leg problems due to a prior injury that Matias came on to take control of the fight to get the stoppage victory in the fifth. Even than, Matias looked bang average. Powerful, but average.
Fans: Haney’s Still Dodging the Real Threats
Fans are skeptical, of course, nothing that Haney has shown zero interest in fighting dangerous killers like Shakur Stevenson, Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Terence Crawford.
Haney didn’t have that same energy when it came to showing ambition to take on the murderer’s row of killers: Shakur, Boots, Crawford, Errol Spence, and Janibek Alimkhanuly.
The 165-pounder Haney is big enough for all of those guys and then some. Haney is a middleweight in disguise but unwilling to fight guys his size.
The Art of Selective Heroism
The general belief is that Haney ONLY fights opposition that he’s sure 100% in his mind that he can beat, which classifies him as a cherry picker. The knowledgeable fans view Haney’s sudden burst of bravery as highly suspicious.
Haney plays a superhero when he’s dead certain of victory, viewing himself as having an advantage over his opposition. Given that Devin’s rehydrating to 165 lbs for fights at 140, he’s got a massive size advantage over his opposition right out of the gate.
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