Tim Bradley says Devin Haney has “got to get his mind right” because he can’t continue to perform like he showed in his last fight against Jose Ramirez. Bradley wants Haney (32-0, 15 KOs) to snap out of his mental issues, which he views as a form of PTSD from combat duty, and return to being the fighter he once was before Ryan Garcia trounced him a year ago.
(Credit: Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom)
Haney’s Mental State
Bradley doesn’t have any useful advice for Devin to get back to his former self, because he never had a great chin to begin with. He can’t punch, and his chances of competing with the killers at 147 like Jaron Ennis and Brian Norman Jr. are slim and none. Unfortunately, Haney is too big to return to 140 and 135 to be a weight bully.
“This form of Devin isn’t hard to beat. This form of Devin is easy. Mentally, the way he behaved in his last fight. I know how you beat Devin. You step to him,” said Tim Bradley to Fightype. “Whatever you want to say about his last performance, if you want to call that boxing, then you can watch that s***. I’m not watching that.”
Bradley’s advice won’t help. Haney can’t become the bold, engaging fighter that Tim wants him to be because the beating he took against Ryan Garcia took something out of him. He doesn’t want to put himself back on the front lines again after that sustained carpet bombing he took from Kingry.
What’s left of the fight-or-flight behavior we saw from Haney against Jose Ramirez, in which he looked like he was experiencing flashbacks. It should have been an easy fight for Devin, but he looked wild-eyed, dealing with fear. It’s hard for Bradley to understand Haney’s behavior because it’s alien to the way he reacted after losses in his career.
Tim Calls Out Haney’s Boring Style
“I don’t want to watch a Haney fight. I’m actually trying to help you, big dog. I’m trying to keep it 100 with you to let you know that’s not boxing,” said Bradley. “Two and half minutes of you going around the ring like this [circular motion]. You should have seen your eyes. Your eyes were like coke bottles.”
Turki Alalshikh is still interested in using Haney on his Riyadh Season cards. So, regardless of how little interest Bradley and his fans have in watching his boring fights, he will still be placed on PPV cards on DAZN. He missed out on the Teofimo Lopez fight, which was one of the few options he had for a big payday.
The only other viable options for Devin at 147 to make money are against these fighters:
– Manny Pacquiao
– Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero
– Conor Benn
– Mario Barrios
Turki isn’t going to match Haney against Jaron Ennis or Brian Norman Jr. because that would be a slaughter. Devin can’t take punches from those fighters and last more than two rounds. He would likely lose to other contenders, such as Karen Chukhadzhian and Eimantas Stanionis. Those guys are too good for him.
Haney’s Post-Garcia Trauma: Permanent?
“You were as scared as hell. They say, ‘Well, Tim. He’s got PTSD from Garcia.’ You don’t think I had PTSD from Ruslan Provodnikov? Get your mind right, Devin,” said Bradley.
Some fighters and soldiers never recover from PTSD. It stays with them the remainder of their lives, and that might be the case with Haney. What he went through in his fight against Ryan was being in combat and taking steady fire for 36 minutes. He was fragged by Garcia and was hurt half a dozen times in that fight.
It’s still too early to know if Devin’s situation is permanent because he’s only had one fight, but it’s not a good sign that he was showing symptoms after a year out of the ring to recover from his beating against Garcia.
A couple of good fights for Haney at 140 would be against these guys:
– Keyshawn Davis
– Richardson Hitchins
Last Updated on 06/07/2025
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