Devin Haney posted on social media a hint to His Excellency Turki Alalshikh that he’s interested in fighting a unification match against WBA 140-lb champion Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz.
It’s unclear whether Alalshikh will accommodate WBC light welterweight champion Haney’s wishes because ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) is already scheduled to defend his WBA belt against Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela (13-2, 9 KOs) on August 3rd at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Haney’s Recent Performance Raises Concerns
Given how Haney (31-1, 15 KOs) looked in his last fight, why would Alalshikh want anything to do with putting together a unification between him and ‘Pitbull’ Cruz? Haney needs to redeem himself because of the way he fought in his loss to Ryan Garcia; he doesn’t rate a unification against Cruz.
Haney has his WBC mandatory due against Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs). Unless Haney intends to give Sandor a step aside, he’s going to have to fight him next because he already put him on hold for the Ryan Garcia fight on April 20th, which Devin lost by a 12-round decision after being dropped six times in the fight.
Ideally, Haney needs to defend his WBC title against Sandor Martin and then try to set up a rematch with Ryan Garcia.
Would fans be excited to see Haney fight Pitbull Cruz after the way he performed last April? It would be better for Haney to build himself back up against weaker punchers before getting in with someone with Cruz’s power.
Concerns Regarding a Cruz-Haney Matchup
If Haney and Cruz do fight, a good referee needs to control Devin’s holding because he ties up a lot, making it impossible for his opponents to get their shots off.
Haney got away with murder with the holding he did against Ryan Garcia after he was dropped four times in the seventh round last April. The referee failed to penalize or warn Haney for his holding, and he should have. It would have changed the outcome of the fight.
Weight Disparity and Rehydration Rules
For a fight between the much smaller 5’4″ Pitbull Cruz and 5’8″ Haney to make sense, there needs to be a 10-lb rehydration rule to keep things fair. You can’t fight on an even playing field if one guy is rehydrating to the mid-160s and the other fighter is giving away tons of weight.
The World Boxing Council should follow in the IBF’s footsteps by implementing a 10-lb rehydration policy.
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