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Devin Haney gets much criticism and some of it is well deserved. He is often known as a clinch merchant who produces boring fights every time he steps in the ring. His last fight against Vasyl Lomachenko brought the dog out of him and now we have this new and improved Haney. In a sold out Chase Center in San Francisco, California, Haney showed the world, and most notably Regis Prograis, that he’s not just some jab-and-clinch fighter anymore.
Haney may have won via decision, his eighth straight, but the fight was a pure masterclass that earned him every round on every judge’s card, including a 10-8 in round three.
Devin Haney: Scoring the knockdown
”Downloading the data” is something Petr Yan and Terence Crawford fans will harp on to an annoying degree. But that is exactly what Devin Haney did against Regis Prograis. “The Dream” took early rounds light and scored with a fair share of jabs and crosses. Eventually, he got the read on “Rougarou’s” dip and the fight derailed for the Louisiana native from there.
Round three rolled around and Haney caught Prograis leaning to his left, something he did all night, and dropped him. Beating the eight count, Prograis got up but was completely checked out for the remainder of the fight.
Devin Haney was in complete control
From the knockdown on, Haney was in complete control of the fight. Prograis could not work out what to do the entire night and Haney had no reason to fix what wasn’t broke.
From that point on, Haney showcased his hand speed, footwork, and head movement that had Prograis perplexed and whiffing at big shots when he decided to throw.
A that was Prograis’ main problem on the night: after the third round, he became timid and couldn’t throw anything that mattered. He was consistently met with jabs, uppercuts, and the cross that made him pause for concern.
Haney managed to stun Prograis a couple more times in the fight but would not get another knockdown. Don’t let the decision and Haney’s past fool you, this was an incredible performance against a two time World Champion and Haney made him look like a cab driver.
Prograis came out with actual urgency in round 12 but it was too little, too late. Haney cruised to a decision in round 12 to claim the World Championship in his second weight class.
Who does Devin Haney fight next?
There was tons of other action at the Chase Center. In addition to Haney’s schooling of Prograis, Liam Paro knocked out Montana Love in round six and Andy Cruz scored a massive third round knockout.
The biggest story of the night, however, was Miyo Yoshida handing Ebanie Bridges her second pro loss and claiming the IBF World Bantamweight title for herself.
Devin Haney is the man to beat at 140. Teofimo Lopez is the obvious choice. The two were meant to fight at 135 but just couldn’t come to fruition. There’s also Ryan Garcia, the big “name” fight, who just won last week. But on that same card, Subriel Matias made it known that he’s a force to be reckoned with too. Regardless of who he fights, the former undisputed lightweight champion will be a big draw after this performance.
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