Devin Haney stands as one of the frontrunners to land 2023 fighter of the year honors after beating Vasiliy Lomachenko and Regis Prograis during the calendar year.
Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn has even more grandiose plans for the pupil he promotes in 2024.
“[Haney] wants the biggest fights out there,” Hearn told BoxingScene.com and other media. “You can see his year looking something like Ryan Garcia, Teofimo Lopez Jr. and Gervonta Davis. Now that he’s the draw that he is, I expect him to end his career with us.”
Haney and Garcia’s teams have kickstarted negotiations in recent days.
Hearn even upped the ante and said the former undisputed lightweight champion and current WBC super lightweight titlist Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) is ready for a run at 147 pounds against the division’s kingpin.
“I can see him going to 147 and winning world titles there,” said Hearn. “He’s going to be stronger at that weight. Terence Crawford vs. Haney would be a tremendous fight. Devin has big plans and a big belief in himself. He wants to fight the very best.”
According to records from the California State Athletic Commission, Haney weighed 165 pounds on the day of the fight against Prograis, 25 pounds more than the previous day’s weigh-in.
Haney, Davis, and both of their camps have been going back and forth in recent days building up a potential fight – one that Hearn doesn’t see happening anytime soon.
“That’s a long way away, that fight. Generally, when a super fight gets made. there are at least conversations between the teams. It’s a great fight and one that we can look forward to. But for me, we should be making the Ryan Garcia fight [at the snap of a finger]. Ryan should be wanting that fight and challenging for belts at 140 … I think that’s the fight to make. I really do. Especially when you talk about the speed of making a fight. I can’t see the others coming together at the same pace. We’d love to make the fight as soon as possible.”
Haney dominated Prograis with a one-sided beating, dropping the former two-time titlist and outlanding him 129 to 36 to a unanimous decision win.
“I saw [Haney-Prograis] as a 50-50 fight [going in] and it was a complete masterclass from a generational great,” said Hearn. “I don’t see anyone at 140 who beats [Haney], honestly.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.