During an interview with Ring Magazine, trainer Bill Haney talks about the upcoming plans for his son Devin Haney as his name has been attached to numerous potential fights as of late. Catching up on what they’re working on at the moment, Bill Haney shared some of these thoughts on Devin’s future.
Bill Haney on where things stand for a potential fight between his son and Shakur Stevenson
“Shakur hasn’t responded to the 144 lb agreement [he proposed], that Devin Haney said he would have with him…[Devin] put it on there for the people and we haven’t gotten an answer or a response.”
On where the priorities are for opponents
“On the
list, Tank Davis, he sits at probably #1. I mean, we’ve been had back and forth…I consider this is real. Me and Al [Haymon] have had discussions, that has made it even more real. Never has anyone said anything about dehydration, rehydration or anything for that matter. So, what I think it should be is a fair fight and that weight is to be determined but it won’t be anything under 144 lbs for nobody in the world.”
On saying Stevenson would be easy work for Devin
“Listen, it’s harder to get him in the ring. It’s been a fight to get him in the ring. I think that’s going to be the hardest part, for Deebo to get him in the ring than to actually be in the ring…That garage that his grandfather taught him how to do it at was a small stage in comparison to the big stage and the big professors that I done learned this game from, starting with Floyd Mayweather Sr, Roger, Eddie Mustafa, and the like.”
On the WBO order to defend against Keyshawn Davis
“Well what a great opportunity to be for Devin to be forced to buy more Rolls Royces, houses, and all the other things that he’s getting forced to buy by fighting a mandatory in Keyshawn Davis…He’s on the list, he’s been on the list since before he became a mandatory because we think he’s a heck of a fighter and another opportunity for Devin to move closer to the Mount Rushmore of boxing.”
On their interest in a Boots fight
“When I saw him, I saw a fighter that can be beat by a style that Devin has. When we were taught this game, we were taught with the ability to adapt to everyone…Like, you seen the times that Boots had the most problems was when Xander was boxing him. Of course when you have a high boxing IQ and you’re a boxer, that’s what you’re going to continue to do until you’re forced not to…We believe Boots is who he is, but he would be one of the most difficult puzzles that we as a team, as a fighter, would have to figure out.”
On why a Ryan Garcia fight isn’t happening
“Ryan is, respectfully, on the list. He’s at #1o because there’s some things we would like him to do in terms of maturity or being pushed by his team. Outside of that, we got 10 tremendously fighters [on our list]…We put that on there, we gave it to Turki, we made it publicly as well as privately [known] that’s what we want.
“What I want to see is him go to the drug VADA program, give us a significant amount of time [to test] for us to have faith that he’s clean.”
