Promoter Eddie Hearn says he doesn’t feel Devin Haney should fight IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias next, with him coming off a loss to Ryan Garcia last April.
Haney was knocked down multiple times by Ryan in their fight and was lucky not to be stopped in the seventh round of that contest. Haney fell four times in that round from punches, but the referee only counted one of the knockdowns.
Concerns over Haney’s Recovery
Hearn feels that WBC light welterweight champion Haney (31-1, 15 KOs) took a lot of punishment in his defeat against Ryan, and he doesn’t think it’s a good idea for him to go into what would promise to be a fueling fight against the hard-punching Matias (20-1, 20 KOs).
Instead of Haney fighting Matias in a unification, Hearn would like Devin to defend his WBC belt against his mandatory Sandor Martin next. That’s a better fight for Haney right now.
Martin (42-3, 15 KOs) isn’t a big puncher, and the only thing Haney would have to worry about is getting outboxed by him, which is a possibility.
Of course, if Haney’s punch resistance has been affected by his fight with Ryan Garcia, the southpaw Martin has enough pop in his punches to take advantage of that.
He knocked Teofimo Lopez down twice in their fight in December 2022 and had him mentally questioning himself afterward when he was given a controversial 10-round split decision.
Hearn’s Comments
“I don’t think Matias is the right fight for Devin Haney right now coming off that defeat [to Ryan Garcia]. He took punishment that night. That’s why I love the Sandor Martin fight [for Haney],” said promoter Eddie Hearn to the media when asked if a unification fight between IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias and WBC champ Devin Haney is a good fight.
Matias is a bad fight for Haney at any point, not just now. Haney’s ability to take a hard shot has been in question since his fight with Jorge Linares in 2021, and putting him in with a knockout artist like Matias would be a disaster. Hearn knows that, so he’s steering him towards safer waters against Martin.
“I’m not saying Devin wouldn’t fight Subriel Matias. He would, but that’s a back-to-back [grueling contest] if he wasn’t ready or psychologically ready for that fight,” said Hearn. “If you get beat back to back, and you know it’s going to be a punishing fight.”
Devin and his vulture-like dad, Bill Haney, have zero about wanting to fight Subriel Matias, and it’s pretty clear they want nothing to do with this devasting puncher.
“If you fight Subriel, you better be prepared to go to some dark, horrible places in the ring, because if you’re Liam [Paro] or Devin, you’re not going to get him out of there early,” said Hearn.
“He’s going to back you up, throw everything at you. He’s going to hit you around the side of your head, the top of your head, the body. You got to come through it, and coming off a defeat like Devin, that’s why I believe Sandor Martin is the right fight,” said Hearn.
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