Promoter Eddie Hearn said tonight that Devin Haney won’t be a “draw” without fighting on the Saudi events.
He stated that while he respects Haney (33-0,15 KOs) for becoming a three-division world champion last weekend with his win over WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr., he’s “difficult to watch.” Hearn says Haney is “gunshy.” That’s a comment that many boxing fans have said about him as well.
For the time being, Haney is doing well for himself, making millions fighting on Turki Alalshikh’s cards since 2024. However, his last two fights on Turki’s Riyadh Season events against Norman Jr. and Jose Ramirez have been widely criticized by fans as being boring due to his running and holding.
“I’m just being honest. His performance against [Jose] Ramirez was really difficult to watch. Although he beat Brian Norman, I don’t think he’s fighting to his capabilities,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to the media tonight about Devin Haney.
If Haney stayed in the pocket and threw a lot of punches, he could get clipped. He was hurt many times in his loss to Ryan Garcia in 2024. Although he later got a pass for the loss due to Garcia testing positive for the PED Ostarine, the perception with fans remains that he’s chinny.
Against Norman Jr., Haney only landed 70 punches during the 12-round fight. That’s an average of 5.8 punches landed per round. That low number would be fine if Devin were a knockout artist with one-punch power. He’s not.
Haney isn’t a puncher and must win by decision. He got lucky against Norman Jr. because he was able to frequently hold him to shut down his offense without being penalized or disqualified. In that fight, Devin resembled an octopus with all the clinching he was doing.
“I don’t think he’s going to be a draw outside of getting paid for those Saudi events,” Hearn continued about Haney. “I think if that stopped, you’d see that quite quickly. But he’s a very good fighter, he’s tough to beat.”
