Can Jose Ramirez Derail Devin Haney’s Plans for a Big-Money Garcia Rematch?

Devin Haney claims he’ll be coming back “better” this Friday after his year-long layoff to face Jose Ramirez on DAZN PPV at Times Square in New York City. He feels he will be stronger fighting at 147 because he won’t have to drain down to 140 or 135, as he did in the past.

(Credit: Melina Pizano/Matchroom)

Salvage Operation

Devin doesn’t want to admit it, but he’s worried about losing this fight against the former WBC and WBO light welterweight champion Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs). This isn’t the type of opponent that Haney built his 31-0 record on. He can actually fight. I bet Bill Haney is worried, too.

The idea of this fight is for Haney to get a good win over a notable fighter and use the victory to create interest in the rematch with Ryan Garcia. Losing to Ramirez wrecks all that. Turki Alalshikh hasn’t said what the backup plan is for Haney if he gets destroyed by Ramirez. There’s got to be some kind of salvage deal with him to save him from being scrapped and sent to the junkyard.

In recent interviews, Haney has discussed his past career achievements at length, suggesting that he may be trying to boost his self-confidence by reminding himself out loud of his accomplishments. A lot of fans view Haney as overrated, and he feels he should have three defeats on his record against Ryan Garcia, Vasily Lomachenko, and Jorge Linares.

Living in the Past?

“I’m already solidified, two-time champion,” said Devin Haney to DAZN Boxing, gaining strength from his past accomplishments, beating George Kambosos Jr. and Regis Prograis.

Those were empty wins because Kamboos was a paper champion in the eyes of a lot of fans, and Prograis was 35, not the fighter he’d been by the time he fought Haney. It would mean something for Haney to brag about being a “two-time champion” if he’s beaten some killers, like Gervonta Davis at 135 and Gary Antuanne Russell at 140.

When you hear someone droning on about the past, that’s a red flag that they’re trying to bolster themselves mentally. That loss to Ryan Garcia must have affected Haney more than people thought.

Fans question whether Ramirez can win a decision against Haney, given what’s at stake for the fight. With the big-money rematch with Ryan Garcia being talked about for October, securing a win could be near-impossible for Ramirez if it’s left to the judges.

Ramirez, 32, has been in the sport a long time, and he surely knows what he’s going to be defeating with fighting the A-side Haney with a lucrative fight ahead of him against Kingry if he’s victorious.

Turki Alalshikh has already made it known that both need to win on May 2nd. Devin has been given the more difficult fight against the former WBC and WBO 140-lb champion Ramirez.

The only thing Haney has going for him in this fight is that Jose is coming off a loss to Arnold Barboza Jr. last November. His loss wasn’t as bad as Devin’s against Ryan, but he was still defeated and has been picked out. That means he’s been well-vetted. If they wanted to pick someone that Haney would have serious problems with, they’d have selected Gary Antuanne Russell or Subriel Matias.