Devin Haney says he thinks a fight between him and welterweight champion Terence Crawford is possible after he moves up in weight to 147. That would be a massive fight, even bigger than Haney taking on Gervonta Davis.
It’s unclear what Crawford’s thoughts are about Haney showing interest in fighting him, but it would be excellent if Terence fails to get the Canelo Alvarez clash next year.
147: The next frontier
Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) states that he’s not sure when he’ll move up because he just got to 140, and he can’t give a time frame for the move.
But given that Haney rehydrated to 165 lbs for his fight with WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis on December 9th, it can’t be too much longer before he moves up to 147.
Haney likely weighs close to the same weight as Crawford once he’d rehydrated, so he should be fighting at 147.
Devin has started negotiations for a fight with Ryan Garcia for his first defense of his WBC 140-lb title. Assuming the two fighters can agree on terms, the match should happen in the first quarter of 2024.
Haney had been trying to lure lightweight Gervonta Davis up to 140 to fight him next, but he may have been scared off when he found out about his rehydrating to 165.
Rehydration revelation
“I don’t think we’re that far away. 147 could be next. That’s something I’m looking into. Obviously, I want to pick the right fight at 147. I’m still barely going up to 140,” said Devin Haney to Ariel Helwani’s YouTube channel when asked how much longer before he moves up to welterweight.
What is Haney talking about? He isn’t far front 154. He weighs 165 pounds as he enters the ring, which should be enough for him to fight at 147 pounds now. The only things that could give Haney problems are his lack of power and the fact there are some killers in the division.
“Yeah, that’s accurate,” said Haney when asked if it’s accurate that he rehydrated to 165 lbs for his fight with Regis Prograis. “I drank too much water, and that’s about it. You can’t punch that much weight with food. It has to be water.
“So obviously, me drinking and fluids. It’s really just water weight. A lot of guys do that. They don’t weigh us. It’s not normal for them to weigh us on the day of the fight right before we go in the ring. So, there’s a lot of guys that do that.”
It’s hard to believe that Haney accidentally rehydrated to 165. That’s a lot of water to drink to go from 140 to 165. To put that much weight back on in 24 hours, Haney would have had to drink three gallons of water.
Did he drink that much? He needs to move up to 147 because that’s too much weight to be putting back on in 24 hours. What normal person drinks three gallons of water in 24 hours? Gallon is a lot of water.
“That’s where guys go wrong. They’re not rehydrating up,” said Haney. “I hate to say it, but that’s where guys are dying in the ring because their brain isn’t hydrated. They’re depleting themselves but not doing the proper things to hydrate back up.
“I don’t know because I normally don’t weigh. So, I don’t know what I’m entering the ring at,” said Haney when asked if the 165 lbs was the heaviest he’s ever weighed for a fight,” said Haney.
It’s hard to believe that Haney doesn’t know what he rehydrates to on the night of his fights. How does he not know? When you’re rehydrating, you’re targeting the weight that he was at before you began taking off water weight.
You can only know how much water to drink if you monitor your weight. Interestingly, Haney says he doesn’t weigh himself on the day of the weight. Is he being disingenuous?
Ryan Garcia first, then Crawford
“Maybe 160,” said Haney when asked what division he’ll end his career at. “I’m not the tallest guy in the world, so I can’t get that big. But I think my body will definitely fill out. I don’t have a super small body frame.”
If Haney is rehydrating to 165 at age 25, it’s reasonable to assume that he’s going to win up at 168 easily. It would be a mistake for Haney to move up to 175 because he can’t punch, and would get destroyed by those guys.
“You see me as I’m going into the fight. I’m ripped up because I’m doing everything possible to make the weight. I’m barely going to 140. If that fight were to happen, it would take some time for me to fill out and be a 147-pounder,” said Haney when asked if he sees himself fighting Terence Crawford one of these days.
“Right now, I’m just barely getting to 140. I knew if I followed the game plan and executed, I knew it would be an easy night,” said Haney when asked if he thought his fight with Regis Prograis would be an easy one for him, which you can argue is why he picked him,” said Haney.
