Chris Mannix believes that Bill Haney hopes Turki Alalshikh will make a unification fight between Devin Haney and Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero happen in February 2026.
Mannix points out that it’s a winnable fight for WBO welterweight champion Haney (33-0, 15 KOs) against WBA champion Rolly Romero (17-2, 13 KOs). It keeps Devin busy and allows him to pick up another title before facing Ryan Garcia in a rematch later in 2026.
If Haney can capture the WBA title from Rolly, it will strengthen his bargaining position to get a bigger slice of the purse against Ryan. Without that second title, Devin wouldn’t be in as good a spot, because Garcia would still be more popular than him, with a far bigger social media following.
“He’s calling out Rolly Romero, and saying, ‘Why don’t we fight in February?’ They’re sending a message to Turki Alalshikh. ‘Hey, that’s two belts at welterweight. We’re ready to go. We didn’t take too much damage in that last fight [Brian Norman Jr.]. We’re ready to go in February,” said commentator Chris Mannix on his channel about Devin and Bill Haney wanting a unification fight against Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero in February 2026.
What Mannix is overlooking is two things.
- Shakhram Giyasov: He’s the WBA mandatory for Rolly’s title, and he’s already been bypassed once when Eimantas Stanionis held the belt. The WBA has already ordered the fight. So, unless Turki offers Giyasov a huge step aside, Rolly will have to defend against him or lose his belt.
- Haney could lose. Rolly is a big puncher, and Devin looked gunshy in his last two fights. His victory over WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. last Saturday night was not a dominant one. It involved mostly clinching after the second round knockdown. Haney threw only 70 punches in the entire fight. Rolly could beat him and mess up the plans for the rematch with Ryan.
“Rolly Romero doesn’t have a fight scheduled for the first quarter of next year. Saudi Arabia is going to put on another show. February. There’s a reason why Bill Haney is dropping Rolly Romero’s name in the month of February because he knows Turki Alalshikh can make that fight happen,” said Mannix. It also keeps him lined up for that big showdown with Ryan Garcia potentially later in the year.”
“A fighter in Rolly that he’s going to be able to dominate just as easy if not easier than Brian Norman Jr,” said Sergio Mora about Haney.
That was not an easy fight for Haney. Mora worked the fight as a commentator for DAZN, and his view of the action didn’t match what was happening inside the ring. He talked of Devin dominating when he was holding in every round. Norman’s pressure forced Haney to hold excessively.