Devin Haney is already looking past his next opponent, WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr., talking about big clashes available to him against Ryan Garcia and several lightweights.
Haney mentioned these fighters today:
- Curmel Moton
- Shakur Stevenson
- Emiliano Vargas
- Abdullah Mason
- Ryan Garcia
- Gervonta Davis
“Shell of Myself” Defense
“In my past fights, you saw me more of a shell of myself because I was killing myself to make the weight,” said Devin Haney to the media, sounding like he’s making excuses for why he’s struggled in the past against lesser fighters. “I feel a lot better, I feel a lot stronger, and I’m excited for it.”
It sounds like Haney is trying to make excuses for why he struggled against Ryan Garcia, Vasily Lomachenko, Jose Ramirez, and Jorge Linares. Blaming it on weight sounds like a cop out on Haney’s part.
The Weak Punch Reality
The reality is, he can’t punch, he holds too much, moves too much, and he has a fragile chin. He hasn’t knocked out anyone since 2019, going the distance with his last 10 opponents, and he appears to be on the downside of his career now that he no longer has the weight advantage over his opponents that he once enjoyed when fighting at lightweight.
Fantasy Fights and Delusion
“I don’t see that fight ever happening,” said Haney when asked about a super-fight with Gervonta Davis. “You still got Shakur. You still got Ryan Garcia. That’s a huge fight. A lot of guys are coming up. They make a new guy every day,” said Haney about potential fights for him in the future if he doesn’t get knocked out by Norman Jr.
Tank & Shakur? Not Happening
Lightweight Shakur Stevenson is expected to challenge WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez in January 2026. That’s a fight that Shakur could lose, which would make him worthless as a future opponent for Haney. At 140, Stevenson would be at the mercy of the powerful talents, like Gary Antuanne Russell, Subriel Matias, and Ernesto Mercado.
The Ryan Garcia rematch won’t be worth anything if they both lose their next fights. Ryan is going to be coming back at some point, and he’ll be vulnerable against almost anyone at this point. He’s not even training in a gym. He’s doing living room workouts like Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. used to do when his career went downhill.
Of course, Haney isn’t going to get a fight against Gervonta Davis. They’re two divisions apart, and there’s no money in the fight for Tank compared to what he’s getting fighting Jake Paul. If Haney loses to Brian Norman Jr., that’s another reason why Tank will never look his way.
“We start with Brian Norman on November 22nd, and maybe I’ll go up to 154. You never know,” said Haney.
If Haney gets destroyed by Norman Jr., he’s going to have to come up with an excuse to swerve the criticism. Saying he was weight drained and a “shell” of himself is one way. It would be pointless for Haney to remain at 147, as he would never be able to live it down about his loss to Norman Jr.
There wouldn’t be a handy excuse to fall back on about a positive test, like there was in his defeat against Ryan Garcia. If Ryan didn’t test positive for a PED, Haney would have had to own that loss. Losing to Norman Jr. would be disastrous for his career, making it necessary for him to move up to 154 to rebuild.
