The Pending Test
By Eddie Sanchez
The Lightweight division is equally exciting and frustrating. Following Teofimo Lopez’s victory over Vasily Lomachenko, the division doesn’t look like it’s going to be settled at the top in the immediate future.
Teofimo Lopez (WBA, WBO, IBF, The Ring) will be fighting mandatory challenger George Kambosos, which is rather disappointing in terms of fan-engagement and competition, but intriguing because it will be hosted on Triller. Triller of course is the platform that hosted the Tyson-Jones Jr. PPV, which also featured Jake Paul knocking Nate Robinson out cold. This is a huge win for the platform, but won’t do much for fans.
Ryan Garcia and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, who at one point seemed destined to fight each other, have nothing but questions remaining in terms of where they stand within the division. Ryan Garcia doesn’t have an opponent yet and the options seem to be scarce. Tank Davis is set to move up to 140 pounds to face WBA regular champ Mario Barrios, which creates another layer of drama and disappointment.
“A lot of us are like ‘what the hell? Seriously?’” said Teo to Fighthub about him not being impressed with Davis going up to 140 to cherry-pick a title.” The term ‘title’ should be used loosely as the two legitimate 140 pound champs are Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez. Those two men are doing their part and will face each other in May, while Gervonta Davis is content with sitting in the shadows as a ‘regular’ (illegitimate) champion.
Fortunately, in the face of all of these disappointments, we have Devin Haney (WBC) set to face former three division champ, the number 7th ranked (The Ring) Lightweight, Jorge Linares. This is a fantastic fight for the 22 year old and Linares should prove to be a stern test for the young champion.
Despite Haney’s status as one of the two champions in the Lightweight division, there are still many questions regarding where he stands in the top five of the division. Non-champs Lomachenko, Davis and Garcia can provide convincing cases why they are actually the better fighters.
Haney will now have the chance to prove he deserves the WBC belt that sits around his waist. Like Ryan Garcia-vs-Luke Campbell at the end of 2020, Haney now has an upper-echelon fighter, that is still fighting at an optimal age, as his opponent.
His two best previous wins were against Yuriokis Gamboa, who was one month shy of 39 years old and Juan Carlos Burgos, after he had transitioned to a lower tier as a fighter.
Jorge Linares is as game as they come. He has defeated men like Oscar Larios, Rocky Juarez, Anthony Crolla and Luke Campbell among others. Additionally, he shared the ring with Antonio Demarco, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Pablo Cesar Cano. With 52 professional fights, he is as battle tested as they come and the world will find out just how real Devin Haney is.
Devin is set to make $3 million dollars, which is a 50% increase in his purse from his last bout with Gamboa. This is a solid chunk of change for a 22 year old with plenty left to prove, but boxing fans should be happy to see him getting paid considering that there are others in the division itching for similar paydays.
This bout in particular will test Devin Haney’s punching power. His record stands at 25-0, with only 15 wins by way of knockout. Conversely, Linares has lost five times in his career, with all five of those ending with him on the canvas.
Considering that Linares has never lost a bout by decision, this will be a nice test for Haney on a few fronts. Can he prove he has knocking power against a man that is somewhat chin-ey, or if not, can he outbox a man that has never heard a final decision that didn’t have his name called?
Of course, this is not to assume that Haney will in fact win. Although Linares 3-2 in his last five fights, he has been a professional for nineteen years and can use some of his 35 year old wisdom to trick his opponent when possible. He will be hoping to have a similar offering to Orlando Salido’s dirty-ish win over Lomachenko.
Devin Haney has a huge test for him this May and fans will be able to tune into DAZN to learn where he truly stands as a fighter. If he passes his test with flying colors, he will be on a similar schedule with Teofimo Lopez, but as always, let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.
