His Excellency Turki Alalshikh says he’s contacted Al Haymon of PBC to bring champions Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis to Saudi Arabia for a mega-fight in 2024.
The Saudis are the ones that have the power to motivate Tank Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) to take the fight with Haney (31-0, 15 KOs), who is a lot bigger and thus far has been resistant to agreeing to weight stipulations.
A Dream Fight
“I want him [Davis], and I send a message now to Al Haymon; ‘Let’s do the job, brother. I want to see Haney in my country. I will try to do it in 2024,” said His Excellency Turki Alalshikh to DAZN Boxing about his desire to stage the Tank Davis vs. Devin Haney fight in Saudi Arabia this year.
Haney and Tank have been going back and forth, trading insults since last year, getting fans interested, but never actually fighting. Although the 24-year-old Haney and his father, Bill, have shown a desire to make the fight, the huge weight difference between the two makes it difficult.
Haney rehydrated to 165 for his last fight against WBC 140-lb champion Regis Prograis on December 9th last month and used his size to dominate the smaller, 35-year-old champ. It looked almost unfair with the difference in size between the two fighters.
Like a lot of young fighters, the 25-year-old Haney is able to drain down to fight in weight classes that he couldn’t do if he were older.
Challenges and Opportunities
Putting the Haney vs. Davis fight together to stage it in Saudi Arabia will take a lot of work with negotiating and figuring out the financial side.
There will need to be some give on Haney’s part with the weight because it wouldn’t be fair to Tank Davis if he walks into the ring and is confronted by Haney, weighing 170+ lbs and looking like he should be fighting at super middleweight against David Benavidez.
Haney will need to agree to a rehydration clause to keep him from shooting up to 165 to 170+ on fight night, which would make the fight look like a complete oddity size-wise.
