Devin Haney claims that he was willing to fight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, but he refused to come down to 147 for them to fight.
Ennis’s Push for 152
Haney says Boots offered to fight him at catchweight of 152 pounds, and he wasn’t willing to do that. Devin’s rationale for not moving up five lbs is because he’d never even fought at 147. Haney’s last fight was a catchweight at 144 against Jose Ramirez on May 2nd.
It was widely reported that Haney rehydrated to 165 for his fight at 140 against Regis Prograis in December 2023. If Devin was blowing up that big two years ago while fighting at light welterweight, he should have had no problems fighting Boots Ennis at a catchweight of 152.
“Ryan Garcia was out. Teo was out. Who was next best guy that I could fight? They came with ‘Boots’ Ennis, and we said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it, but we want to do it at 147.’ They [Team Jaron Ennis] came back with, ‘152.’ I’m like, ‘Why would I fight at 152? I never even fought at 147. No. We can do it at 147 or not.’ So, then he moved up [to 154], and then, Brian Norman,” said Devin Haney to the Ring Magazine channel about why the fight with Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis never happened.
Five Pounds Haney Wouldn’t Concede
For Haney to be unwilling to move up just five pounds from 147 to 152, it suggests that he really didn’t fancy the idea of fighting Boots Ennis. The money would have been good for Devin, likely better than the $10 million he received for his tune-up fight against Jose Ramirez at Times Square on May 2nd. The risk of being vaporized by Ennis would be destroying what’s left of Haney’s career after two consecutive poor showings against Ramirez and Ryan Garcia.
PTSD is the least that Devin would have to worry about in the aftermath of being knocked out by Boots Ennis. It would be near impossible for Haney to come back from a loss like that if he could. Turki Alalshikh would likely continue to give Haney opportunities to fight on his Riyadh Season cards in the short term.
Still, he would eventually not be invited if he were forced to go into Jerry mode for entire fights to keep from being knocked out again. Devin will have to entertain the fans to avoid wearing out his welcome at these prestigious events.
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