Devin Haney needs to think twice about agreeing to promoter Eddie Hearn’s plan for him to challenge IBF light welterweight champion Liam Paro for his belt on December 7th in Australia.
Wrong Opponent, Wrong Timing
Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) is the wrong guy for Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) to fight coming off a bad beating against Ryan Garcia on April 20th. Haney must be warned that the money he’ll get for the Paro fight won’t be worth it. Devin’s value will plummet for future fights after Paro gets through with him on December 7th.
The money Haney, 25, will be getting to fight Paro in Australia would be good due to PPV in that country, but Devin could live to regret his decision when he gets knocked out.
We know Haney wants to be paid well for his fights after being spoiled by the riches he made from his clash against the popular social media star Ryan last April, but getting the stuffing beaten out of him by Paro, 28, would make the cash not worth it.
Besides Paro being too powerful for Haney to fight in his first fight back, there’s also the problem with the weight. Haney is rehydrating 20+ lbs for his fights at 140, coming in over 160+ lbs on the night of his fights.
Even if Hearn can work his magic to maneuver a way for Haney to swerve the IBF’s 10-lb rehydration rule, it will still be difficult for Devin to make 140 and be strong on the night of the fight against Paro.
IBF’s Uncompromising Stance
The IBF is a no-nonsense sanctioning body, and they won’t agree that Haney-Paro fight is a unification due to Haney holding the WBC Champion in Recess tag. That’s not a title. It’s a spot-holder tag, allowing ex-champs to cut in line to fight for their old belts against the new champion.
Haney won’t be able to use that as a method to avoid the IBF’s 10-lb rehydration rule, which means he’s going to make weight for the secondary weigh-in on the morning of the fight.
Haney will be so drained on the day of the fight that Paro will batter him around the ring, dropping him repeatedly as Ryan Garcia did. However, in this case, there won’t be a referee who saves Haney like there was in the Ryan fight. We don’t see the action stopped with Paro being docked a point for hitting on the break.
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