Jorge Linares, former multi-weight world champion, thinks Devin Haney should move back down to 135 to rebuild his career after his loss to Ryan Garcia.
Linares feels that Haney isn’t designed to fight at 140 because he doesn’t possess the punch resistance or the power to compete against the top fighters in that weight class. He thinks Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) should sacrifice to take off the weight to return to 135, as he was at his best.
Challenges of Returning to 135
A problem that could prevent Haney from returning to 135 is how big he gets in between fights. When Haney isn’t in training camp, he puts on weight and looks huge. For Haney to return to 135, he would need to control his weight in between fights, avoid fattening foods, and continue to train to stay close to fighting weight.
Haney lost to Ryan by a 12-round majority decision on April 20th and was dropped several times in the fight. His performance against Ryan showed that he didn’t belong at 140, and he would continue to have problems in this weight class if he chose to stay.
“The new generation, they don’t think too much to make the weight and the sacrifice. Boxing is different right now than it was before,” said Jorge Linares to YSM Sports Media, reacting to Ryan Garcia failing to make weight for his fight against Devin Haneyon on April 20th.
“That situation with Ryan Garcia is not professional with doping and weight. Haney, I think he needs to come down to 135. It’s the best. If he continues at 140, so many boxers have more punch than him, and he doesn’t have a chin,” Linares said.
Haney would be much better off returning to 135 becaue he has no future at 140, and his career will end quickly if he moves up to 147 to compete against the sharks in that weight class. Against someone like Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, Haney, I doubt he would last more than one or two rounds at best.
The Future at 135: More Opportunities for Haney
Moving back down to 135 would put Haney in position to get money fights against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, Vasily Lomachenko, and Shakur Stevenson. There are more opportunities for Haney at lightweight than at 140, which is now a dead division. Ryan Garcia can’t make 140 any longer, and Teofimo Lopez looks washed up with his popularity nosediving.
“Ryan Garcia has a better chin than Haney, and Ryan has a punch. But Haney doesn’t have a chin, and he no have punch,” said Linares speaking the obvious. “That’s a difficult situation for him right now. That’s because the new generation, the new kids and the new guys, they don’t like to make too much sacrifice with the weight,’ said Linares about Haney having problems making 135.
Weight Management is Key
Haney can return to 135 with discipline, but he can’t do it if he balloons up in weight between fights the way he’s been doing. He doesn’t look like an athlete when he’s not in camp. Haney will never have the power or the ability to take the big punches from the 140-lb fighters.
At least at 135, Haney will have the size to beat fighters he could never defeat if he campaigned at 140 against guys more or least somewhat close to the same weight as him.
“It’s more easy, ‘Oh, you know what? I’m going to make 140. It’s more easy for me.’ You need to make the sacrifice to make weight, and when you make the sacrifice, you have more chance to win the fight,” said Linares.
Haney could have still been fighting at 135 and would likely still be unbeaten right now instead of coming off a loss.
“I started my career at 126, and then I moved to 130 because my body was different. Then I made the 135. When I moved to 140, I made a mistake, because I was in the United States, and the food is totally different than in Japan,” said Linares.
“So, I was like, ‘It’s more easy for me to make 140.’ I have no chance at 140, and I lose to fights at 140. It was very difficult for me in my career at 140 when you see so many big guys at 140. So now the boxers don’t like to make the weight, and that’s the bad example from Ryan Garcia,” said Linares.
Ryan has looked pretty big since his fight with Haney, and he could have problems if he puts on too much weight during his one-year suspension. He and Haney need to dedicate themselves to training year-round and avoid food. With the money Haney made, he could hire a cook and a nutritionist to fix his meals and diet and get someone to train him in between fights.
“Now, there are a lot of boxers that like to come in heavy. They make more recovery [rehydrate] more than 10 pounds. I don’t like that. It’s dangerous,” said Linares about the weight bully boxers that game the system by fighting well below their body frame and then rehydrating massive amounts of weight, as much as 20+ lbs, to seek an advantage over smaller opposition.
The sanctioning bodies could quickly end the practice of fighters that compete out of their weight class by implementing strict 10-lb rehydration limits. Thus far, only the IBF is doing this, but the other three sanctioning bodies are lagging.
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