Regis Prograis’ strength coach Evins Tobler says Devin Haney “doesn’t have it” in the chin & power department, and he’s heading toward a loss on December 9th when he challenges for the WBC light welterweight title at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.
Tobler knows what he sees in the undisputed lightweight champion Haney (30-0, 15 KOs), and he feels he’s a guy with an inflated, built-up record, filled with mostly fluff opposition during his eight-year professional career.
In Tobler’s view, the 24-year-old Haney has only had four “real fights, and the rest of them being bums. He doesn’t say who the quality guys that Haney has fought, but it’s likely that these are the ones:
Vasily Lomachenko
Jorge Linares
Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz
George Kambosos Jr
You could throw Yuriorkis Gamboa’s name possibly in that, but by the time Haney fought him, he was 40 years old, ten years past his prime, and fighting two divisions above his ideal weight class at 126.
Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) will challenge Prograis (29-1, 24 KOs) for his WBC light welterweight title on December 9th on DAZN PPV.
Haney “doesn’t have it”
“Sometimes you can see in a man’s soul, and in this case, you know deep down inside, Haney doesn’t have it,” said Prograis’ coach Evins Tobler to ESNEWS about Devin Haney lacking the talent to beat Regis.
If Haney loses this fight, he’s probably going to return to 135 and continue defending his undisputed lightweight championship. It’s unlikely he’ll stay at 140 and suffer additional defeats because if he can’t beat Prograis, he’s not going to have any luck against any of the other champions.
“Like I said, his career has been moved very well by his father [Bill Haney], which is a great thing, and I gave it to them yesterday. This is where the rubber meets the road right here,” said Tobler.
“The reality is, Devin has knocked out 15 bums out of 30 fights. He’s only had four real fights. When I say ‘Real,’ I mean good opponents. He had a problem with Jorge Linares, who made him do the stanky leg. Then he had [George] Kambosos and called him on a weak note.”
The guys that Haney has stopped have obviously been middle-of-the-road ham & egger types who either lacked the ability from the get-go or were shot by the time he fought them.
“Then he had ‘JoJo’ Diaz, who could have beat him, and we all know he lost to [Vasily] Lomachenko,” Tobler said about Haney. “He didn’t stop anyone. So how in the hell is he going to stop Regis Prograis?
“The bottom line is, that weight, it’s not going to transfer to something that you don’t really have. He don’t have a chin, and he don’t have no power,” said Tobler about Haney, who looked like he had ballooned up to 170+ lbs during the kickoff press conference on Tuesday in San Francisco with Prograis.
“Can he box? He can box,” said Tobler about Haney. “Regis Prograis has a chin, a tested chin, he can box, and he got a lot of power. He’s hungry, and he feels disrespected.
“Like I said, it’s going to be a problem on December 9th. So come see the fight, come to the Bay Arena, and watch Regis Prograis keep the 140-lb belt. Order on pay-per-view, get the fight.
“He’s been training, he trains all the time. That kid” said Tobler about Prograis. “What people don’t know. Ten years ago, this kid has never missed a training camp, and I’m talking about not missing a training session.
“He makes great money. Who does that? That’s important. So Devin said who am I? Let me reintroduce myself. I am Evins Tobler, the strength & conditioning coach to two-time world champion, soon to retain his belt when he knocks your young a** out.
“I beat the s**t out of Bill,” said Tobler when asked if he’d like to fight Bill Haney on the undercard of Haney-Prograis.”Bill has never been no round. I was one of the best, top world class athlete. What has he done? Has he gone a round? So, let it happen.
“He’s not a boxer. He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ He knows who I am. He will. Regis is a silent assassin. He can talk some s**t. If you get under his skin, it’s a problem. He doesn’t have to say much. His record speaks for itself.
“Regis is the type of athlete where you teach him, and he gets it. That’s a different level. I’m super excited about this one. I didn’t, but Regis knows about it,” said Tobler about the rumors of Haney having lost a fight earlier in his career and paying to have the loss erased & buried.
