Fans on social media are roasting Devin Haney over his refusal to move up five lbs to fight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis at a 152-lb catchweight. He wanted him to come down to 147, even though he’d recently moved up to 154 for health reasons because he could no longer safely make 147.
Fans Blast Haney
People on social media pointed out that welterweight Conor Benn had moved up to 160 to fight Chris Eubank Jr. at middleweight last April. Conor didn’t try to boil Eubank Jr. down to 147 to fight him at his weight. He was courageous, moved up to his weight class, and gave a good account of himself. It doesn’t sit right with fans that Haney wasn’t willing to even move up five pounds to 152.
“Ennis’s team came with an offer for a fight. We said, ‘Let’s do it.’ But they wanted it at 152 pounds. That made no sense, because I haven’t even fought at Welterweight,” said Haney to Ring Magazine’s channel earlier this week about why he didn’t fight Jaron Ennis.
Devin refused to fight Ennis and opted to face Brian Norman Jr. for his WBO welterweight title instead. There’s no other way for fans to look at Haney’s refusal other than to see it as a case of him chickening out.
Missed Ennis Payday
The money that Haney would have received fighting Ennis would likely have been massive. If he $10 million that Devin received for his tune-up against Jose Ramirez is a good gauge, it’s quite possible that he could have gotten a payday of well over $10 million.
How could he turn down that kind of a payday over a mere five lbs? It’s hard for boxing fans to relate to that. How did Devin not take the fight because it wasn’t just money that he’d have gotten? The fans would have respected Haney for the bravery he was showing by being willing to go to war with one of the best fighters in the sport.
With a rehydration clause.. dummy https://t.co/L5EiU8Z1VV
— Devin Haney (@Realdevinhaney) July 22, 2025