Devin Haney has been worked over by fans on social media for his alleged 25-pound rehydration weight gain for his match against WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis last December in San Franciso.
Fans have labeled Haney a classic example of a ‘weight bully’ and believe his success against Prograis was attributed to his massive weight gain overnight after the weigh-in. Prograis wants his title back due to the 25 lbs Haney reportedly put on.
Haney critics won’t stop yapping about his weight gain, even though it’s been five months since his fight against Prograis, and it should have been forgotten by now. Prograis lost the fight, and it doesn’t appear that the defeat will be overturned at this late juncture.
Haney weighed in at 140 lbs the Friday before the fight but then rehydrated, ballooning up 25 lbs to 165. Victor Conte, the CEO of SNAC, defended Haney on social media today to explain why he put on so much weight after the weigh-in.
Victor Conte Slams “Ignorant Talk”
Conte, a nutrition expert, took to X to tell the Haney critics that the weights aren’t accurate on fight nights because fighters wear clothes when weighing in and have stuff in their pockets when they hit the scales.
Victor doesn’t say what he thinks Haney would have had in his pockets that could have caused him to weigh 25 lbs over his weigh-in weight of 140, but who knows?
Fans argue that Haney looked like a full-fledged super middleweight on the night of the fight against Prograis and was four weight classses above the light welterweight division.
They say Haney looked like a ‘giant’ inside the ring and feel that the extra weight he gained after rehydrating 25 lbs played a factor in his win.
Prograis Wants His Belt Back
Not surprisingly, Prograis is complaining about Haney’s excessive weight gain, and he wants his WBC title back, feeling that he shouldn’t have had to fight someone that size last December.
It’s a tough one. Presumably, the California Athletic Commission would be the one that would decide on whether to strip Haney for his weight gain and then give the WBC title back to Prograis.
Ideally, they would order a rematch and monitor the weights to ensure that there wasn’t a repeat of the 25-lb weight gain.
Enough ignorant tallk about @Realdevinhaney coming in 25 lbs over for the @RPrograis fight. Understand on fight night when boxers briefly step on the scale they have long sleeve shirts, pants & shoes on w/ who knows what all in their pockets. These weights are NOT precise.
— Victor Conte (@VictorConte) May 28, 2024
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