Devin Haney: Don’t Call Him a Prospect

By Luis A. Cortes III

It’s clear that the narrative of Devin Haney (22-0) (14 KO’s) being one of boxing’s best young prospect sis something that the young lightweight sensation was never really trying to achieve.  As a matter of fact, it’s a moniker that Haney seems to evade, like most of the punches that are thrown his way.  Yes, when a fighter turns professional at the age of seventeen and runs through the early part of his career in the fashion that Haney has, seemingly easily, beating all opposition during his rise through the lightweight division, it’s not hard to understand why so many boxing insiders started to gush over his skills, both inside and outside of the ring.  He is a well-spoken young man, with the looks that suggest he could easily transcend the sport to become a popular main stream star. 

Boxing history is littered with the once upon a time prospects that had the same traits that Haney currently possesses.  What seems to be a bit different regarding Haney is that he has always delivered where it matters the most.  Inside of the ring.  At times many of these prospects in the past have not been able to handle everything that comes with a quick rise through the professional ranks.  Some fall to situations outside of the ring in their personal lives, while others fail to live up to expectations as the level of competition increases. 

In contrast, the talent that Haney possesses made many fight fans and boxing insiders pick him as their heir apparent to the throne of boxing’s biggest box office draw.  His speed both of foot and hand are something that can be best described as generational.  Add to that, Haney’s mental prowess and his ability to adapt during fights to capitalize on the mistakes his opponent’s make, along with the knowledge at such a young age to dictate the pace of a fight.  What you wind up having in total is a complete fighter.  The only thing that seems to be missing is how Haney would fair against a tough, gritty opponent that could push him physically and mentally.  Again, those types of boxing intangibles may not be tested until Haney begins to fight the elite level of his division and the sport.  

With twenty-two fights under his belt in his career at just the age of twenty, Haney enters his fight on Friday night against Zaur Abdullaev (11-0) (7 KO’s), of Russia, aiming to capture something that would put the boxing world on notice.  A victory would make him the WBC Interim champion and their number one ranked lightweight in the world.  Currently the lightweight division is one of the most talented in the sport, with the fighter many feel is the best fighter in the world, pound-for-pound in Vasly Lomachenko holding the WBA/WBC/WBO titles.  A Haney win would mean that he would put himself in a prime position to fight Lomachenko, possibly for all those titles.  With Lomachenko fighting under the Top Rank Promotions banner, he has made it clear that his goal is to be undisputed lightweight champion. As a result, he will patiently await the winner of the proposed December 14^th fight between IBF champion Richard Commey and his number one challenger Teofimo Lopez. 

This leaves Haney somewhat on the outside in terms of the world title picture.  Although this may be the case, Haney has made it clear that he is glad to continue his path and does not need to rush into a fight with Lomachenko.  “The WBC Interim World Championship means a lot to me.  Being able to fight for an Interim World title means everything.  This not only makes me the WBC mandatory for Lomachenko, but I’m able to do Interim title defenses until Lomachenko is ready to fight,” stated Haney during a recent media day. 

“Some people kept labeling me a prospect when I knew I was so much more.  I know Abdullaev is focused, he’s been at the top of the rankings for a while now.  I believe the winner is in a really good position with the WBC,” asserts Haney. 

Friday night is the type of opportunity that Haney has been preparing for since he first started boxing when he was seven years old.  Not only is it a huge chance to start building his legacy,  It is also the first time that Haney will be the main event at the building known as the “Mecca of Boxing,” Madison Square Garden.  Although the fight will take place inside of the smaller theater and not the main room, the theater is at times known as the proving grounds where future top attractions of the sport first test just how big their box office appeal truly is.  A dominant performance for Haney along with a sizable crowd of paying customers to witness his first major career milestone would be the first step towards him proving to the boxing world that all the praise he has received at such an early age is warranted.  

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After Saturday the Lightweight picture gets clearer

By Luis A. Cortes III

Heading into this Saturday afternoon’s (ESPN+ 4 p.m. ET) lightweight unification fight, there are many sub plots that accompany this major fight.  WBA/WBO unified champion and top ranked pound for pound fighter in the world, Vasyl Lomachenko (13-1)(10 KO’s) defends his two portions of the lightweight crown against fellow 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist, and England native Luke Campbell (20-2)(16 KO’s).  One of these sub plots is the fact that not only will the winner of this fight stake their claim as the best lightweight in the world with the two previously mentioned titles, the vacant WBC world lightweight title is also up for grabs.  This means that Lomachenko can add a third title to his ever-growing collection of championships.  While for Campbell, with one huge upset victory, he can go from top contender to owner of three of the four major titles in the division. 

While we will take a closer look at the type of fight that Lomachenko-Campbell could shape up to be once the first bell rings out from the O2 Arena in London, what is intriguing is just what this fight means to the lightweight division once the dust settles and a winner is announced.  Earlier this summer the lightweight division and the path towards crowning an undisputed champion was covered prior to the title defense of IBF champion, Richard Commey ("The Road to Undisputed Lightweight King Begins"). 

With Commey successfully defending his version of the title against Beltran, and Teofimo Lopez winning his fight to secure the spot as the IBF number one contender, all signs point to the two men meeting in a championship fight in December at Madison Square Garden.  The victor of this Saturday’s fight in London will be waiting with bated breath for the outcome of the proposed Commey-Lopez fight.  For Top Rank Promotions, the ideal situation would be for Lomachenko to continue to impress the world by proving with a victory over Campbell that he is the best fighter in the world.  It also would make a potential fight next year with the winner of Commey-Lopez much easier to make since both of those fighters also ply their trade under the Top Rank banner. 

As mentioned in the article earlier this summer.  Luke Campbell has attached himself to this scenario as the absolute wild card.  Campbell, unlike the other three fighters mentioned, is not signed to Top Rank and is promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.  However, something tells me that if he can accomplish the upset by beating Lomachenko, which not many boxing observers or fans on social media seem to give him a valid chance in doing, Team Campbell may in fact be demanding that they as well look no further then December’s fight for their next opponent. 

All of this means that Saturday will go a long way into making the path and picture of crowning an undisputed lightweight champion much clearer.  As for the fight itself, this event does say a lot about the reigning champion.  With the fight taking place in London, it’s not often that in today’s day and age of champions demanding to be considered the “A” side of a promotion that the hometown fighter is the challenger.  Lomachenko is proving that he is anything but a regular champion.  He sees this as an opportunity to display his skills on a large scale in front of an audience that hasn’t seen him compete live since his days in the World Boxing Series prior to turning professional, or since the 2012 Olympic Games (held in London).  One thing is for certain, while Campbell will most likely have most of his native land’s support, with over 18,000 tickets sold and a sellout expected, Lomachenko has been attending fight week events that have been packed with his supporters. 

Already an international star, an impressive victory over Campbell would just add the rest of England to Lomachenko’s growing list of supporters.  Although its rare to see the champion or pound for pound best willing to travel to the native land of the challenger, to his credit Lomachenko had this to say about the task at hand on Saturday.  “Maybe it will be a harder fight, but I can’t answer that until after the fight.  Luke Campbell is not an easy fighter.  He’s a top fighter.  He’s a smart fighter.  He’s a technical fighter, so it will be an interesting and technical fight.” 

What Lomachenko is referring, to aside from showing respect to his challenger and fellow Olympic champion, is the only thing that boxing observers have pointed to that favors Campbell going into this fight, his size and reach advantage over the smaller champion.  Campbell is a very tall lightweight with solid fundamentals and a tough southpaw style.  He also has good professional experience, only losing twice by split decision, one of those fights being a 2017 loss to then WBA champion Jorge Linares.  Although most people thought Linares was the rightful winner of the fight, Campbell showed grit and determination after being dropped in the second round by rising to his feet and adjusting in order to make the fight a close one.  Linares was also the fighter that wound up dropping Lomachenko during their heated fight last year when Lomachenko moved up in weight to capture the WBA title. ("Top Rank Boxing Presents Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Jorge Linares Recap")

“I’ve been through a lot having the experience of the London Olympics, the crowds, the pressure of going out there, getting a medal and winning.  My professional career, coming to America to fight Linares for a world title.  I’ve learned from my experiences, and boy, do I love a challenge.  I’ve said for years being in boxing, to be the best, you have to beat the best,” stated Campbell. 

So, while his amateur pedigree and his professional experiences, coupled with his physical traits have many feeling that Campbell will make this a competitive fight, mostly everyone winds up saying that in the end Lomachenko will find a way to figure out the right plan of attack during the fight and make the adjustments needed to chop down his worthy challenger.  What will be interesting to see is if Campbell will also be able to adjust to the champion’s adjustments in order to try and take control of the fight as the challenger, and clearly come out as the winner of the fight. 

A couple things are for sure, whichever way this fight winds up playing out, fight fans will continue to reap the benefits of cross promotion as the best fight the best.  Also, one fighter will walk out of the ring with three of the four major belts, thus taking us closer to an undisputed champion.  Lastly, even if the fight does wind up turning into a technical fight between the two fighters as they jockey for advantages, it will be an intriguing high tense chess match.  If this is the case, pay close attention to the subtle boxing moves done with both the fighter’s hands and feet as they probe for the right plan of attack to be successful.  Enjoy, and let the lightweight picture get that much clearer! 

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The Road to Undisputed Lightweight King Begins

By Luis A. Cortes III

On Saturday night from Temecula California, Top Rank Promotions and ESPN (10 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT) will broadcast a fight card that’s main event will feature the beginning of the path towards an undisputed king.  The quest for lightweight supremacy begins as IBF lightweight champion Richard Commey (28-2, 22 KO’s) defends his title for the first time against former world champion and grizzled veteran Ray Beltran (36-8-1, 22 KO’s).  When Mikey Garcia decided to vacate the WBC portion of the lightweight crown back in April after his loss to welterweight champion Errol Spence, it meant that the biggest fight in the division between Garcia and the WBA/WBO champion Vasiliy Lomachenko would have to once again be placed on hold.

With Garcia now set to face Danny Garcia at welterweight, it meant that the division could now move on from the unification fight between Garcia and Lomachenko and allow for the rest of the world class talent a chance to stake their claim as the king of the talent rich division.  Lomachenko (a top pound-for-pound fighter) and already a unified champion in the division is clearly the proverbial favorite to be the last man standing when the dust settles.  This brings us back to what will take place this weekend between Commey and Beltran. 

Commey, the hard-punching champion from Ghana, won the IBF portion of the crown in February when he blasted Isa Chaniev with power shots in two rounds to earn the knockout win.  It was supposed to have set up Commey with the chance to unify his titles with Lomachenko in April.  However, due to a hand injury sustained during his title winning victory, it caused a need for surgery and Lomachenko to look elsewhere for his next opponent.

Beltran himself has had to navigate a twisting path towards this opportunity to have his name listed as the divisions king.  It was just last year that Beltran, after a long career that had seen its ups and downs, finally captured a world championship when he defeated Paulus Moses.  In his first defense of the WBO title in August, he dropped a decision to Puerto Rico’s Jose Pedraza.  Going into that fight (like the Commey situation this year), it was believed that with the victory over Pedraza, Beltran would be next in line for Lomachenko and the seven-figure payday that accompanies that type of fight.  Unfortunately for Beltran, Pedraza not only won the WBO title but would get the fight last December with Lomachenko.  With a comeback knockout victory last February, Beltran has now placed himself into a prime position to challenge Commey for another portion of the lightweight crown.   

“Being a world champion is great.  I went back home, and everyone welcomed me at the airport.  It was like a hero’s welcome, it was unbelievable,” stated Commey during the final press conference this week.  “I never try and knock out my opponent.  It comes when it comes.  I believe he’s a strong guy, a tough guy, and so am I.  It’s going to be a good fight, but I’m the champion, and I’m going to keep my belt.”

It’s clear that Commey has taken to the role of favorite for this fight as the champion, but for Beltran being an underdog is par for the course for him at this point in his twenty-year career.  “I feel like I made it the hard way.  Even when the sport or boxing world didn’t believe in me, that’s when I had to believe in myself,” expressed Beltran.  “Nobody gave me an opportunity, I had to go and take it.  I became a world champion and I am fighting for another world title.  It’s not about if people believe in you.  You must believe in yourself.”

Both fighters are clearly focused on the task at hand and through their words one can tell that they are not taking this opportunity to prove that they are elite lightly.  Having both missed out on an opportunity to fight for bigger fight purses, each fighter clearly is aware what victory and defeat can mean to their careers.  What should also be promising for fans is the fact that both men are hard nosed both in their approach to the sport in terms of preparation, but also in how they fight inside of the ring.  They do not shy away from trying to find their opponents and are happy to exchange power shots to inflict punishment.  In other words, get ready for a fight that has the potential to provide fireworks and bombs for as long as the warfare lasts. 

With a fight between the sport’s top young sensation lightweight Teofimo Lopez and veteran Masayoshi Nakatani scheduled for July 19^th as an IBF title eliminator, whoever survives the fight on Friday night and steps out of the ring with the IBF title will have his eyes focused on that ring in July.  In fact, Lopez will have his eyes on the ring Friday since he is scheduled to be in California to watch Commey and Beltran do battle from ringside. 

Lopez has not been shy about wanting to prove to the world that his days as “top prospect” are behind him.  He has been vocal in calling out the unified champion Lomachenko and with this road to crowning an undisputed lightweight king getting underway.  Lopez will have his chance with just two victories during the remainder of the year to not only fulfill his dream of becoming a world champion, but also, to put himself in the prime position to challenge Lomachenko to become undisputed champion.

A wild card has been thrown into the mix since there still is that issue of the WBC title being vacant.  While it seemed that Luke Campbell, the former 2012 Olympian, would somehow be involved as one of the fighters with top contender status in the WBC rankings, what became interesting was that the WBC named Lomachenko also as a top contender in their rankings despite holding two other portions of the crown.  As a result, there have been plenty of news circulating that a unification fight between Campbell and Lomachenko tentatively scheduled for late August in London is all but set.  Campbell could walk into a London ring with no titles, and if he were to pull off the mega upset, would walk out of that ring with three of the four portions of the undisputed lightweight crown. 

However, if all goes as expected late this summer across the pond, Lomachenko will add that WBC title to the other two portions of the crown he already holds and will await the fighter who survives this small tournament that gets underway Friday night to decide the IBF title.  Whichever way things will pan out in the division, by this time next year, barring any drastic changes or outside of the ring mishaps, fans of the sport should be happy to know that finally a talent rich division will have the elite champions and contenders fight to crown one undisputed king at lightweight. 

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Sergey Lipinets vs. Mikey Garcia

On March 10, 2018, Sergey Lipinets (13-0, 10 KOs) will defend his IBF World Super Lightweight Title against Mikey Garcia (37-0, 30 KOs) in a 12 round bout at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Lipinets captured this title with a unanimous decision victory over Akihiro Kondo (29-7-1, 16 KOs) on November 4, 2017. Garcia, who captured the WBC World Lighweight Title on January 28, 2017, most recently defeated Adrien Broner (33-3, 24 KOs) this past July via unanimous decision. The Alamodome crowd is expected to give the challenger, Mikey Garcia, the "home field advantage" over the Russian defending champion. The San Antonio stadium will likely be filled with fans of the Mexican American fighter, who was born and raised in southern California.

The two additional bouts that are scheduled for this Showtime aired card include a title fight between Rances Barthelemy (26-0, 13 KOs) and Kiryl Relikh (21-2, 19 KOs), as well as a title eliminator between Richard Commey (25-2, 22 KOs) and Alejandro Luna (22-0, 15 KOs).

Cuba's Barthelemy looks to not only preserve his undefeated record against Relikh, but hopes to captured the vacant WBA World Super Lightweight Title in the bout which is scheduled for 12 rounds or less. Barthelemy defeated Relikh last May via a unanimous decision victory. Belarus' Relikh has lost his last two fights. Prior to losing to Barthelemy, he was defeated by Ricky Burns (41-7-1, 14 KOs) by unanimous decision in October of 2016.

Richard Commey of Ghana will face undefeated lightweight contender, Alejandro Luna in a IBF Lightweight Title eliminator. Commey is coming off a March 11, 2017 victory over Hedi Slimani (28-4, 15 KOs) for the vacant WBC International Silver Lightweight Title. Luna, the California native, defeated Andrey Klimov (20-4, 10 KOs) this past April via unanimous decision in a ten round bout. This bout is also scheduled for 12 rounds.

Stay tuned to the Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports for further coverage of this exciting night of super lightweight and lightweight bouts!

MW

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