Devin Haney: I’m Chasing Titles!
On September 13, lightweight contender Devin “The Dream” Haney (22-0, 14 KO’s) will face the challenge of Zaur Abdullaev (11-0, 7 KO’s). The two fighters find themselves battling to claim the interim WBC world lightweight title. Ahead of this meaningful bout the great majority of boxing fans and pundits are prophesying another victory for the Dream. So far, the rising talent has performed fantastically and there is little reason to believe that will change here.
It goes without saying that Haney himself is very confident that he will get past Abdullaev without much fuss. If that turns out to be the case, the Dream has placed his full attention on obtaining a world title. The interim title is a nice starting point. However, the versatile Californian wants to wrap his fingers around a legitimate world title. Haney’s desire to challenge WBO and WBA world lightweight champion Vasiliy “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko is no secret.
When Haney initially calling for a bout with Hi-Tech, he was met with a considerable amount of flack. Yet, as Haney has continued to grow and blossom, the snide remarks remain on the steady decline. Following Lomachenko’s last bout with Luke Campbell, a showdown with the Dream sounds more realistic than ever.
In an ideal scenario, Haney would get the Loma bout in early or mid-2020. However, Devin Haney is not new to the world, or business, of boxing. He understands that he must remain poised because there is no telling what might happen next in this zany sport. This notion is bolstered by his thinking that Bob Arum would be disinclined to pen a Loma fight.
“Well the fight is kind of hard to make […] Bob Arum has basically been saying that Lomachenko isn’t going to fight Devin Haney. It doesn’t look like, you know, that they want to go down that road of Devin Haney. […] He is talking about Lomachenko fighting 140 pounders, 126 pounders when I’m in his weight class and after this fight it makes me the mandatory. Bob Arum actually said that this fight really doesn’t even count, that Zaur Abdullaev is not an opponent worthy enough to be fighting Lomachenko after this.” ~ Devin Haney
Even if doesn’t get a shot at Lomachenko himself, he is aware that he could still obtain his belts. Although, that would only happen if he secures the interim title and Lomachenko officially leaves the division. Obviously, Haney would rather beat Loma to acquire his belts than have them literally handed to him. In fact, the ever-growing young man is firm in his assertion that he is only sticking around the 135lbs division to continue his quest for world titles.
“This was my best weight cut to be honest. You know, my last weight cut was much tougher than this one but this fight I was more disciplined […] I’ll make the 135lbs limit for a couple more fights if it makes sense to.”
In the event that no title fights can be made, he is more than ready to move up to the junior welterweight division. While he can still make the weight, it’s not always the most comfortable task to accomplish. This is why if nothing worth his while comes his way, he is ready to shake and move. First though, the Dream must derail the championship ambitions of Abdullaev before he can claim his own.
“I’m chasing titles at this point. You know, I want to make any fights with the champions. If not I’m going to go up to 140 like I’ve been saying […] If Lomachenko is going to go down after he gets all the belts then it makes sense to stay around because the belt is going to become vacant and the interim title bumps up to the regular title, so.” ~Devin Haney
By: Bakari Simpson
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