What next for new super lightweight king Devin Haney?

Haney asserts himself as the man to beat at 140lb’s but has no shortage of challengers looming

On paper it was one of the best and evenly matched encounters of the year, seeing undisputed 135lb champ Devin ‘The Dream’ Haney making the inevitable move up to 140lb’s, to challenge who many felt to be the best fighter in the super lightweight division, WBC champion Regis ‘Rougarou’ Prograis. Last Saturday night, December 9th, in front of a packed-out arena at the Chase Centre in San Franciso, instead we witnessed a one-sided shellacking, with Prograis never getting to grips with Haney’s masterful footwork and lightning-fast hand speed. Outside of an uneventful first, ‘The Dream’ completely dominated from rounds two through twelve.

Before the fight, the newly crowned WBC king had spoken about how Prograis was a one trick pony, that trick being a powerful left hand which relied heavily on his opponent being in position. Haney’s fight plan was a perfect one, completely neutralising this weapon with rapid and expertly positioned footwork, circling to the left and whipping in dazzling combinations, varied counter and lead right hands, before pivoting out of range to Prograis’ right.

The performance had shades of the earlier years of ‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd, with a philly shell guard and razor-sharp right hands landing at will. Many felt Haney may well outbox Prograis, but in a more negative fashion in not the most fan friendly fight. There was nothing negative about his tactics on Saturday night, just an intelligent game plan carried out flawlessly, beating Prograis up from the outside, even planting his feet at times, dropping him in the third and stinging him on several occasions.

Given the dominant fashion of this victory, Haney has really cemented himself as one of the top two names in a division that is littered with elite tacticians, frightening brawlers, rapidly rising prospects and seasoned veterans on a mission to reclaim former glory. Given the plethora of options the unbeaten star will now be mulling over, lets look at which are the most salivating for fight fans to hope for during 2024.

 

Teofimo Lopez

Given how Prograis’ stock will have fallen in the wake of Saturday nights drumming, this would be a fight between the number one and number two in the division, with the ranking within those spots perhaps up for debate. Teofimo, himself a former undisputed champ down at 135lb’s, is coming off a sensational performance, conclusively besting the prior top dog in the division, the unbeaten Scottish slickster Josh Taylor. Although self-professed claims of this making him a two-weight undisputed champion being technically wide of the mark, he without a doubt beat ‘the man’ of the division, even if his star had fallen since his controversial victory over Jack Catterall in the fight before.

At just 25 and 26 respectively, both Haney and Teofimo have each had similarly remarkable success considering this early stage of their careers, really being trailblazers in demonstrating if you are good enough, you are old enough to take on the biggest names. Something other rivals such as Gervonta Davis could take note from.

Unfortunately, the likelihood of this fight materialising seems idealistic, with Teofimo with ESPN, Haney on DAZN and a wealth of other options out there for both, the chances of seeing these two square off in the near future right now appears slim.

 

Ryan Garcia

This would be another super fight, with the numbers generated from Ryan Garcia’s matchup with Gervonta Davis demonstrating his star power. He has also just announced himself on the super lightweight scene, with a decent but not spectacular stoppage victory over Mexican slugger Oscar Duarte.

In his sole defeat against Gervonta Davis, we also learnt that Garcia is not afraid to take risks and take on the biggest possible fights. You would have to make Devin Haney a strong favourite going into this match up, but again it would be compelling to watch two young stars of the sport putting it all on the line. With both combatants on the same platform, it should also be a fairly straight forward fight to make in what would be a huge PPV event.

 

Subriel Matias

The relentless Puerto Rican IBF ruler may not have the same ‘superstar’ status as the prior two suggestions, but for hardcore boxing fans this match up may well in fact be the most intriguing due to the clash of styles. Matias really is the antithesis of Devin Haney, for good and for bad. His style comprises of perpetual aggression, swarming his opponents with a ridiculously high punch output, capable of delivering brutal and rapid flurries from awkward angles, eventually pummelling his opponents into submission. His previous five bouts have all ended with via corner retirement, including a dominant reverse of his sole blemish against the tough Russian Petros Aranyan.

Although Haney has now built up a real solid body of work against elite level opposition, we have never witnessed him attempt to neutralise a style such as that of Matias, largely because there may not be anyone else from 135-140lbs who could embody it so effectively. There are rumours that an offer has been made from Teofimo’s camp for a unification with Matias, which would be a similarly brilliant match up. Whatever the combination is, fight fans just want to see these elite names in the division squaring off with one another, one way or another.

 

Gervonta Davis

The man who knocked out Ryan Garcia with a body shot and is often spoken about as ‘the face of the sport,’ as with Teofimo and Garcia, a fight against Davis would be another super fight between huge PPV stars. However stylistically, as with Subriel Mathias, it would also be a fascinating blend of counter puncher vs knockout artist on the surface, even if we all know that Davis is far more than just a ferocious puncher. His accuracy, timing, repertoire of power shots, patience and ability to make adjustments, rivals all of the elite tacticians in the sport.

As is the case with any fighter in and around his weight class, if ‘Tank’ landed that dynamite left hand flush on Haney’s chin, the fight would be over. Haney would still have several physical advantages in height, reach and speed, making this one of the best fights to be made next year across any weight division.  

At the age of 29, it really is time for Davis to embark on a run of career defining fights. The face off with Garcia last time out hopefully signals the dawn of this portion of his career, where he has managed to pick up multiple belts in multiple weight classes, earning millions in fight purses, without ever actually proving himself as the number one in any single division.

Between 135-147lb’s where he has most recently campaigned, those legacy fights now seem to be at 140, so hopefully next year we will see one of the most talented fighters in the sport look to prove himself against fighters of similar stature. Who better to choose than Haney himself?

 

So what next?

These are the leading attractions that most fight fans will be hoping we see served up in the very near future, for a man who has just cemented himself as one of the pound for pound stars of the sport. An honourable mention to Shakur Stevenson, who will likely find himself up in the mix with those mentioned here in 2025, however he first seems intent on becoming undisputed champ down at 135lbs.

Up at super lightweight, as these fighters suggest, it is surely the most talent rich division in the sport today. On top of those mentioned, you have rising stars Richardson Hitchins and Gary Antuanne Russell knocking on the door of world honours. Fellow unbeaten prospects Liam Paro and Arnold Barboza may not have the technical prowess of their super lightweight contingent, but are as game as they come and could still be involved in some fun fights with some big names next year. The likes of Jack Catterall, Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez are also all still in the mix.

There are clearly options aplenty for Haney, with a further move up to 147lb’s also not being out of the question. Whatever he decides, he has shown already in facing the likes of Kambosos, Lomachenko and Prograis that he is not one to shy away from the biggest fights available. Thankfully for him, there is no shortage of fellow stars and ambitious contenders queueing up in what fight fans will hope will be a year of brilliant match ups for Haney and the supporting cast at 140 lb's.

 

Article sponsored by HÖRFA