Devin Haney weighed in at 135-lbs and his opponent Jorge Linares came in at 134-lbs on Friday at the weigh-in for their title fight this Saturday night at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Haney will be defending his WBC lightweight title against #4 WBC Linares, and it’s a match that could go either way.
While Devin is viewed as a huge favorite by the oddsmakers, many people believe he’s out of his league.
Devin vs. Linares will be streamed live by DAZN on Saturday night.
(Photo credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom or Melina Pizano/Matchroom)
This is the 22-year-old Haney’s important step up in class against the former three-division world champion Linares (47-5, 29 KOs).
It’s a fight that Haney probably wouldn’t have been ready for if Linares was three to five years younger, as he was on another level than Devin when he was in the zenith of his career.
Now that Linares has gotten a little older at 35, he might be old enough for Haney to beat.
It still won’t be easy because even at his age, he’s the bigger puncher and is faster than Haney in the hand speed department.
As some boxing fans believe, Haney is a slower, more boring version of Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Official weights:
- Amari Jones 153.6lbs vs. Jonathan Burrs 153lbs
- Ramla Ali 124lbs vs. Mikayla Nebel 124.6lbs
- Reshat Mati 145.8lbs vs. Ryan Pino 146.8lbs
- Khalil Coe 176.2lbs vs. Nathaniel Tadd 179lbs
- Martin J. Ward 129.6lbs vs. Azinga Fuzile 129.2lbs
- Jason Quigley 159.4lbs vs. Shane Mosley Jr 160lbs
- Chantelle Cameron 139.2lbs vs. Melissa Hernandez 136.2lbs
Haney: I don’t need to prove myself
“This is what I’ve been waiting for. It’s my time to shine on the big stage, and I’m thankful for it,” said Devin Haney about his fight with Linares.
“I’m looking forward to showing the world and giving you guys a treat. I don’t know, we got to see, but it all starts with Saturday night,” Haney said when asked if Teofimo Lopez is serious about wanting to fight him.
“The difference between me and Teofimo is that I’m fighting a guy that is a real threat. He’s fighting a guy [George Kambosos Jr] that he’s talking more about me than the guy he’s fighting.
“Right now, I’m focused on Jorge Linares. No, I’m just going to go in there and have fun. There is no pressure. Jorge Linares, his resume, and who he is speaks for itself.
“I don’t need to prove anything to anybody. I’m just going to go in there and do what I, have fun, and get the job done.
“It’s a blessing that I’m here at this stage in my career, but this is only the beginning. This has always been a dream of mine to be headlining in Vegas, my face on billboards.
“You guys are going to see this from this point on for years to come. This is only the beginning, and I’m ready for it,” Haney said.
Haney actually does need to prove himself in this fight with Linares because he’s not fought anyone good enough to show whether he belongs among the best.
Haney’s toughest fights thus far have come against these lesser fighters:
- Yuriorkis Gamboa
- Alfredo Santiago
- Antonio Moran
- Zaur Abdullaev
Devin prepared for any scenario
“I’m relaxed. I feel like I prepared well,” Haney said. “I’m ready for it. This is my time to shine. I’m ready to showcase everything I’ve been working.
“I’ve prepared for any scenario possible. I don’t like to see that it’s the best camp yet because every camp is good.
“Some of the things we’ve been working on will show on Saturday night. Ben Davison is also a friend of mine as well, so of course, we’re going to get more work in.
“My dad is my head coach, but Ben has been a tremendous help in camp as well, putting the finishing touches on this camp, and I look forward to it.
“I don’t have weight problems. I never have weight problems. Of course, I can say all the fights I want in the future, but my main focus is Jorge Linares.
“I don’t want to look past him. I know he’s a real threat. On paper, it showed his resume that he is the toughest test, but on Saturday night, I want it to be an easy night.
“I want to put all my focus into Saturday. I just see myself as being victorious. I don’t want to give away no game plan or nothing like that.
“He lost five times, but he lost against good fighters, mostly good fighters. Nah, I don’t want to make any predictions for knockouts because styles make fights.
“He’s had a lot of experience. He’s at the point in his career where he’s had a lot of experience like Gamboa.
“Some people, they just know how to survive,” Devin said on why he’s failed to knockout guys like Gamboa.
Linares will take the fight to Haney because he likely knows that he won’t be given a decision if he tries to box him.
For Haney’s sake, it’d be better to hope that he can handle the pressure from Linares because he’s going to be dealing with a lot.
Haney plans on throwing a lot of punches
“We got to see because there are going to be a lot of them, so we got to see if he [Linares] can take a lot of punches,” said Haney.
“Anybody can take one or two, but when they’re a lot of them coming, we just got to see.
“If it goes 12 rounds and I’m able to showcase my full arsenal, so be it. If it’s a knockout early, so be it.
“If it’s a late fight knockout, it’s cool. I don’t know,” Haney said when asked how hard the fight with Linares will be.
“As I said, I can’t underestimate him. It’s always going to be a hard, tough fight just by his resume and who he’s fought in the past.
“I feel like none of those guys was me. He feels like he’s on a different level, but I feel like I’m on a different level too.
“He’s never seen anybody with the style like mine, with the speed, with the slickness, with everything, the whole package. I have the whole package,” said Haney.
Throwing a lot of punches will put Haney in harm’s way of Linares’ harder, faster shots. We haven’t seen Haney take any punishment in his career because his opposition has been carefully chosen.
Even Linares has been well-picked. If Haney were fighting Ryan Garcia, Gervonta Davis, and Vasily Lomachenko, he’d be in trouble.