Devin Haney’s dream line-up for 2020!
It’s no secret that Devin “The Dream” Haney (23-0, 15 KO’s) has outlined some very ambitious goals for himself. Naturally, the young Californian wants to be a champion and he wants to go down in the history books.
So far, it appears that he is well on his way to accomplishing both of these feats. Throughout his twenty-three professional bouts, the talented boxer has shown steady improvement in each outing. The Dream has already had, and won, three bouts in 2019 with a fourth on the way in November.
Currently, he is ranked #1 and #15 by the WBC and IBF respectively.
NEW YEARS WISH LIST
Being so close to the end of the year, it’s only to be expected that Haney has his mind on what will come in 2020. Unsurprisingly, the Dream does have a formulated wish-list of who he would like to tangle with in the New Year. As is his style, when asked who he would like to face-off against Haney was quick to supply the answer to Boxing Social.
“2020, three fights? Luke Campbell, Ryan Garcia and Vasiliy Lomachenko. I think those are three fights that the fans would love to see.”
Provided that the #1 ranked WBC lightweight can secure and win, those bouts, by the time 2021 rolls around he could literally be one of the new faces of the sport. Even with his obvious skill-set and heavy endorsement from industry insiders, Haney is still underestimated by countless individuals.
It’s a reality that Haney takes in stride. He realizes that rather than taking his abilities into account, these naysayers are only focusing on his age. This is why so many are quick to relegate him to prospect status. It’s nothing that he sweats though.
PUT SOME RESPECT ON MY NAME
“I would put Lomachenko #1. I would put Richard Commey #2 and I would put myself #3. I put those guys ahead of me because they have the belts.
“[…] I feel like people, they label me as a prospect because of my age, but they don’t see they’re not labeling me as a contender because they’re not looking at where I’m at. I’m the #1 contender! I’m the mandatory for Lomachenko!
“They’re not looking at that, they’re only looking at me as a prospect because of my age.”
Putting first things first, Haney speculates the most realistic fight of the magnitude that he wants would come against UK boxer Luke Campbell. Not only would he be happy to pen that bout, he would enjoy staging the fight in London.
The Dream’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has indicated Haney already has substantial notoriety among the UK fight fans. Furthermore, a win over Campbell would serve as a great measuring stick for how Haney would fair against Lomachenko. Campbell recently lost a competitive showdown to Hi-Tek on August 31.
“2020 I’m going to be back in London. I’m going to fight here hopefully against Luke Campbell and if it’s not Luke Campbell then you know its going be someone else. But more than likely in 2020 I’ll be back to fight Luke Campbell.”
Regardless of who Haney steps in the ring with next, it should be a pleasure to watch the youthful bruiser continue his upward ascent in the sport.
By: Bakari Simpson
Haney is going to be a handful for everyone at 135. Honestly, the only guy I put a head of him is Loma. Could Lopez, Commey, Tank Davis, or Garcia beat him? I dont know, but I’d like to find out. Something tells me Tank “Over Rated” Davis will never fight Haney. Honestly, I dont know who Davis thinks he’s going to fight? Davis left 135 because, as we all know, he couldn’t make weight. I think he failed to make weight 3 or 4 times. So it makes sense that he would move up and stop being this weight bully.
I like Ryan Garcia, but he’s not ready for Haney, Loma, or Commey. I’m not sure about Lopez. I still have questions about that guy. But Lopez could be the biggest puncher at 135. Right now 135 has far more potential to be loaded with elite A level fighters than any other weight class. Thats exciting. Especially for me, because I’m not a huge fan once we go below 135. 135 seems to be my limit for being excited, even though i still watch those little guys. I just think 135 is a historical weight class, having had so many iconic legends over the years. Right now we have about five or six extremely talented fighters at 135, so to say I’m excited about the future of this division is a huge understatement. As boxing fans we should all be excited. And what I really like about 135 is right now there is one man at the top, Loma, and the rest are trying to knock him off. And in their quest to doso, they are going to have to fight each other too. Kind of like when Ali was at the top, and everyone was gunning for him, and they were killing each other to get to him. I dont think this fact has sunk in with everyone yet because as boxing fans we arent use to having such a stacked division with so much elite level talent. Haney is a god damn star and I cant wait for him to demolish Davis. And whats nice about having Ryan Garcia is he’ll bring that Mexican fan base. The bad part of having Ryan Garcia is he’s apart of Golden Boy and now we’re going to have to deal with that corruption too. However, it might not be as bad as what we have to deal with with Canelo. Because unlike Canelo, Ryan Garcia actually has legit talent. Canelo is a manufactured champion, nothing more. GGG should still have all his belts, and Canelo should just have his special WBC legends Mexican title. See, there is boxing, true fighters, then there is Canelo and all that bull shit. That guy…SMH