Devin Haney focused on winning and his health, not knockouts
One strength Gervonta Davis has that his biggest 135-pound rivals don’t is punching power.
Devin Haney, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Shakur Stevenson are polished technicians but they aren’t known for their ability to end any fight in an instant, as Davis is.
That perception irks Haney, who is scheduled to defend his undisputed championship against Lomachenko on pay-per-view Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
At the same time, he made it clear that his objective is to win fights and protect his health, not end fights early.
“The people that say I don’t have knockout power are the people who don’t get into the ring with me,” Haney said on The Pivot Podcast. “Nobody who fights me ever says that. Go watch every fight and see what they say after the fight. If I don’t have knockout power, come show me then. Come walk through all these punches that I’m gonna give you.
“Every fight these guys faces are beat up. I got this far, so let’s keep going with it.”
Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) has come a long way in a short time.
The 24-year-old native of San Francisco won all four major belts when he easily defeated George Kambosos Jr. last June in Kambosos’ home country of Australia and then did again in the rematch in October.
He didn’t necessarily prove that he’s the best 135-pounder in the top-heavy division but he’s the only one who could call himself a genuine champion.
Haney’s success hasn’t come as a result of his power, however. He hasn’t scored a knockout since 2019 and has never stopped a top-tier opponent.
He’s obviously not pleased about the perception that he can’t hurt opponents, as he made clear earlier, but he insists he’s not pre-occupied with stoppages. He has other objectives.
“That’s the sweet science, to hit and not get hit,” he said. “It’s easy to go, ‘You hit me and I’ll hit you. I’ll take one to give you one.’ Anyone who doesn’t even know how to fight can do that. But to hit you as many times as I want and you not be able to hit me, that’s an art. That’s a Picasso.
“At the end of the day, I have a family and I want to have all my senses when I’m done. I’m going to continue to do what I do, whether they like it or not. As long as I win and keep beating these guys easily.”
Indeed, Haney will be relying primarily on his discipline and elite skills against Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) on Saturday and subsequent meetings with Davis and Stevenson, if he and his handlers can make those fights happen.
He’s determined to be remembered as a generational talent, no matter how hard he has to work.
“Nobody trains as hard as me,” he said. “They don’t have the discipline, the skills or the ring IQ that I have. I’m made different. I’m one of the chosen few and I was born to do this. … When I set out to do this, I didn’t want to be a mediocre fighter. Anything I do, I want to be the best at it.
“I want my name to live on much longer than I ever will. I’m doing what I’ve seen the greats do. The work ethic, the discipline, that’s what I have to do.”