Devin Haney simply can’t stand still.
After taking care of business against Vasiliy Lomachenko in mid-2023, Haney looked down at the scales with disgust. He knew there were still a handful of big fights remaining for him at 135 pounds but making that arduous weight cut was out of the question. Haney wasn’t sure if a five-pound reprieve would be enough but he was willing to try.
In his first fight in the super lightweight division, Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) bounced up and down on his toes and fought with high energy. According to the three judges sitting ringside, and practically everyone who watched, Haney was levels above Regis Prograis, winning every second of every round while cruising to a lopsided victory.
The super lightweight division has a ton of star-studded names associated with it. Teofimo Lopez, Subriel Matias, Josh Taylor – Haney didn’t plan on eschewing any of them. However, he’s pontificated his desire to move on up to the welterweight division.
A few fighters have been mentioned as possible opponents. Terence Crawford, Mario Barrios, and even Keith Thurman appear to be on his hit list. Recently though, Conor Benn has been getting some notoriety. Of course, he barely broke a sweat last weekend while outclassing Peter Dobson.
Eddie Hearn has noticed that both Benn and Haney have fulminated over social media. The trash talk is fun and creates buzz but Hearn doesn’t want it to be protracted. Instead of throwing a bunch of verbal jabs at one another, Hearn suggests that Haney pack his bags, jump on the nearest flight he can find, and fight Benn away from the comforts of his U.S. home.
“Devin can come and fight Conor in London at 147 pounds,” Hearn told Pro Boxing Fans. “I think that Devin is gonna eventually be at 147 pounds and he’s building himself into a big star. If Devin wants to come to the UK and fill up a stadium or the O2 Arena, we’d love to do it.”