Boxing news: 'Next Floyd Mayweather' Devin Haney looks to impress on Matchroom debut

When it was announced that Haney had signed with Hearn and Matchroom earlier this year, virtually everybody in the boxing world recognised it as an incredible coup for the British promoter.

Lightening fast and gifted with ability beyond his years, WBC international lightweight champ Haney is already being touted as the heir to Mayweather’s throne.

The legendary fighter’s own father Floyd Sr noted in an interview with Inside The Ropes in 2015 just how similar Haney, who Sr has helped train throughout his career, was to his son.

“There’s going to be another Floyd, I got one already, his name is Devin Haney. Believe me, remember what I told you here on September 13, 2015,” he said.

“The boy Haney is good, he’s sparred with champions already, I’m telling you.”

An impressive 130-8 record as an amateur, followed by 21 more wins in the pros before the age of 21, has left fellow pros and boxing aficionados wondering just how high the Californian-born fighter’s ceiling is.

Tonight he looks to make it 22-0 against a game Moran in the main event of a card promoted by Hearn in Maryland, Washington at the MGM National Harbor.

Undisputed cruiserweight champ-turned heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk was originally meant to headline the event in his debut at 200lb plus against Carlos Takam but was pulled after sustaining a bicep injury in training camp.

So Hearn decided it was time for his new client to step up and impress. And although fans are excited to watch the Mayweather-esque fighter ply his trade between the ropes tonight, Haney sees his talents as a make-up of an abundance of legendary fighters’ DNA.

“I want to learn as much as I can from everyone,” he told Bleacher Report.

“That’s what makes up the Devin Haney style. A little bit of Roger Mayweather. A little bit of Floyd Senior. A little bit of Virgil Hunter. A little bit of Freddie Roach. I never want to be someone who says, ‘I only fight this way. I only fight that way.’

“I’m versatile. I can fight like Roy Jones. I can fight like Mayweather. I can fight like Sugar Ray. And I get compared to them all. I get compared to so many different fighters because I’ve spent time with so many different trainers.”

But Haney also looked back on a ‘special’ sparring session he had with Mayweather prior to the Money man’s final bout against Conor McGregor in 2017.

“I only sparred with Floyd once,” Haney added.

“It was a crazy moment. It was a dream come true. When I was in there, it felt like deja vu. Maybe because I had dreamed about it so much. I thank him for giving me the opportunity before he left the game. It gave me the chance to say I’ve been in the ring with him.”

Hearn believes he’s acquired a special man’s talents in Haney and will be hoping his lightweight prospect, who is already looking forward to potential super-bouts with Teofimo Lopez and Vasyl Lomachenko, can become boxing’s next big star.

“One thing that inspired me to work with Devin Haney and the team was their willingness to fight everybody now,” he said.

“There was nobody that Bill [Haney’s father] wasn’t up for fighting. He was due to fight [Zaur] Abdullaev in a WBC eliminator that was called, that didn’t materialize after their team refused to take the fight on this [Canelo Alvarez-Daniel Jacobs] card, actually, on May the 4th.

“Then he said, ‘Let’s fight Teofimo Lopez. Tell the WBC to order that fight.’ I mean, you’re talking about mega, mega fights that this young man is already willing to jump into at the age of 20. Quite incredible. You look at those fights – Teofimo Lopez, Luke Campbell, Vasiliy Lomachenko, Ryan Garcia – the amount of super-fights that are out there for Devin Haney is quite extraordinary.”

Haney first has Moran to deal with and with all that stardom-heavy pressure on his shoulders, he’ll be expected to perform accordingly. Future world titles await but in order to get there he’ll have to follow idol Mayweather’s famous mantra.

Hard work, dedication.

source: express.co.uk