Bill Haney claims that Floyd Mayweather Jr. started the rumors about Devin moving up to 147 to face Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Bill feels that people are trying to push Devin (31-0, 15 KOs), who currently fights at 140, to move up to challenge Boots Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) for his IBF welterweight title.
He says that Boots “needs that right person to give him that shot,” meaning that Bill has no interest in matching his son, Devin Haney, against Ennis.
Interestingly, Devin is actually bigger than Boots Ennis but chooses to drain down to 140 to fight against smaller opposition for obvious reasons.
The Art of the Hustle
Bill’s argument is that fans are trying to get Haney beaten by moving him against a bigger fighter than him. However, Devin weighed 165 lbs after rehydrating for his last fight in December against WBC 140-lb champion Regis Prograis, whereas Boots Ennis weighs around 157 for his fights at welterweight.
Basically, Bill doesn’t want Devin to fight someone close to the same size as him in Boots Ennis and would instead try to match him against smaller fighters from 135, like Gervonta Davis. Is that a hustle or what?
It’s common knowledge that Devin Haney is fighting outside of his natural weight class and melting down from 165 to fight smaller opposition at 140 to game the system. No rehydration limits set by commissions or sanctioning bodies, fighters like Haney can gain as much as he’d like.
The Mayweather Connection
“The Dollar Bill [Floyd Mayweather Jr.] started the rumors about Boots,” said Bill Haney to Come and Talk 2 Me YouTube channel when asked about the previous rumors that Devin Haney would move up to 147 to challenge Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis for his IBF welterweight title.
“Boots is a hell of a talent, and he’s deserving of his shot the way that Devin is. So to come in and smash them cars together. If that’s on the table and everybody.
“I said with Boots, just like with Shakur and with Tank. Boots needs that right person to pull up on him and give him that shot, that right A-side, B-side are whatever just like Devin is looking for that right fight, do you know what I mean?
“So, I think the boxing community wants to pit them [Boots and Haney] instead. They asked us about Boots, and they asked us about Crawford,” said Bill.
