Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn doubts Devin Haney will be strong enough to compete in the 147 weight class when he moves up to that weight class upon his return to the ring in 2025. A former two-weight world champion, Haney has the skills, but without power he won’t get far.
Haney’s power deficit
Hearn believes former two-weight world champion Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) has the punching power to take on the top welterweight fighters, but he doubts he has the strength to do so.
The problem is that if Haney is too weak to hurt fighters in the 147 class, he will be forced to go the full 12-round distance to win, and that won’t be easy against the top fighters in the class.
Without Shakur-like With his defensive skills, Haney will be a godsend for guys like Brian Norman Jr. and Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
A flat division at 147
One advantage for Haney is that there are only two good fighters in the welterweight division that he is worried about – Boots and Norman Jr. He would have an excellent chance of beating everyone else. However, the division lacks popular fighters and Haney would single-handedly draw all the fans unless he were to fight Ryan Garcia or Boots Ennis.
“You have to watch your weight. It’s all too easy to say you’re too big for 135,” Eddie Hearn told the website All the Smoke, talking about Devin Haney having to make an informed decision about what weight class is ideal for him.
“Then you get to 140, you struggle a little bit and you say, ‘I’m too big for 140.’ Then you’re competing against big, strong guys at 147. I think Devin’s chin is good enough. He’s been injured a couple of times,” Hearn said.
Haney could probably still make 140, but there is no one he could fight in that division except Teofimo Lopez, whose popularity has plummeted due to repeated poor performances. Given the drought in the light welterweight division, it is no longer worth it for Haney to stay in that weight class.
Impact resistance and defense will be crucial
“He was hurt by Ryan. Will the weight at 147 allow him to be a little more robust or will he not be strong enough at 147? Do you stay at 140 or move up to 147? You have to take the right fight,” Hearn said.
If Haney can take better punches at 147 than he did at 140 and 140, he will do well because his boxing skills are superior to virtually every fighter in the division, save for Boots Ennis. However, he had rehydrated at 160 and still had trouble taking punches, so his punch resistance is unlikely to improve at 147 and he will need to focus more on his defense to win his fights.
