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Boxing unified lightweight champ Devin Haney’s last fight was marred by controversy when he said this before his bout with Vasiliy Lomachenko, “I’ll tell you this. I will never lose to a white boy in my life. I don’t care what nobody got to say. Fight a white boy 10 times, I’m going to beat him 10 times.”
When a fighter has to clarify that he’s definitely “not a racist” after the fight, it’s always a tell that the pre-fight hype went wrong.
All of that is in the rear view mirror as Haney prepares for a December bout against Regis Prograis on Saturday 9th December 2023 at the Chase Center, San Francisco.
Devin Haney warns Sean O’Malley to stick to MMA
In 2023, it’s to be expected that a top boxer is going to be asked about crossover boxing matches involving UFC fighters. Most specifically, Haney recently got asked about UFC bantamweight champ Sean O’Malley wanting to fight Gervonta Davis in the boxing ring.
In a recent interview on the MMA Hour, Haney spoke about the differences between MMA and boxing. Even though he feels like Sean O’Malley has some of the best hands in MMA, he gave the bantamweight champ a hard warning about looking to ply his craft in the ring.
“It’s not the best thing for Sean O’Malley to get into a boxing ring with me,” Haney warned. “It’s just, it’s not. It won’t be competitive. It won’t be competitive. But I respect him in the cage, what he does in the cage. He’s a hell of a fighter in the cage. But when you step into that square circle, the boxing ring, it’s a totally different thing.”
Devin Haney on Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury
One big-name MMA fighter is about to test his skills in the boxing ring this Saturday, October 28 in Saudi Arabia. I’m talking about Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou of course.
So what does Haney think of Ngannou’s chances? They aren’t great.
“Of course not,” Haney responded when asked if there was a chance of Ngannou winning. “I mean, you’ve always got a puncher’s chance. That’s when you step in into the boxing [ring], anybody can throw a Hail Mary and knock somebody out. But it’s very slim.”
Francis Ngannou has already won
It’s doubtful that Ngannou is too worried about what Devin Haney thinks. Given Ngannou’s long saga to get out of his UFC contract and truly test the market as a free agent, he just might have a different perspective, one that goes beyond the ring or cage.
Speaking to reporters in Saudi Arabia, Ngannou revealed that, in many ways he feels like he’s already won his biggest fight: getting out from under control of the UFC.
“I feel a lot of support, basically, for this fight. Because this fight was a big battle. In order to get this fight, we’ve been through a lot, and I had to hold my ground—a lot of resistance. So at the end of the day, I get a lot of people that reach out who respect that; who respect that confidence, that fight. I’ve been having a lot of support. And that’s why, for me, I say that this is success. This is already a win. On Saturday night, I’m going out there to find a second win, but I’ve won already. I’ve won everything.”
Ngannou vs. Fury takes place this Saturday, October 28th, at the Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Alongside the main event, the card will feature a WBO European/WBA Continental/Commonwealth/British heavyweight title fight between Fabio Wardley and David Adeleye.
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