Devin Haney just moved up to 140 last December and still looks drained. It’s like he’s putting himself on death’s door to have a size advantage over his opponents.
WBC light welterweight champion Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) is putting himself through misery just to gain a size advantage, and it’s utterly pathetic. He’s putting his life on the line, draining down enormous amounts of water just to compete against smaller opposition.
The Absurdity of 165 lbs at 140 lbs
There is no reason on earth for a fighter competing in the 140-lb weight class to rehydrate to 165. That’s just wrong.
With WBC light welterweight champion Haney rehydrating to 165 lbs for his fights at 140, it’s understandable why he’s still looking totally drained to the point where he’s putting his health at risk just to gain an advantage by fighting against smaller opponents.
Weight Bully or Dedicated Athlete? You Decide
The fact that Haney is still looking deathly in appearance is a strong indicator that he needs to move up to 147 or, better yet, 154 so that he’s not killing himself. Haney’s fans like to say he’s a dedicated athlete. The reason Devin resembles Skeletor is because he’s two weight classes below his natural size.
It’s great to have talent, but when your main thing is weight manipulation, it takes away from your actual talent. We don’t know if the success Haney has enjoyed at the 135 and 140 weight classes is due to his unfair size advantage.
Protecting Fighters, Protecting the Sport
The sport must stop fighters like Haney to protect him and his opponents. If Haney doesn’t feel confident enough to compete in the 154 or 160-lb weight classes where he belongs, maybe he shouldn’t be in the sport.
I hate to say this, but Haney is a weight bully. The WBC needs to follow the IBF’s lead and create a strict 10-lb rehydration limit to keep fighters like Haney from gaming the system to get an unfair advantage over his opponents by fighting outside his normal weight class.
One day, boxing will fix this problem, and weight bullies will be a thing of the past. Like Major League Baseball outlawed the spitball pitch used by pitchers for an advantage, boxing needs to stop fighters who use weight manipulation to their benefit.
