Devin Haney reacted on social media to Artur Beterbiev ranking him 5th on his personal list of pound-for-pound fighters, saying he will be “#1 P4P”. Not surprisingly, fans are toasting Haney over his prediction of being the #1 pound for pound.
To become the #1 P4P, Haney would need to beat some top level fighters in whatever division he plans to fight in when he eventually returns to the ring. Some fans are wondering if Haney is only interested in a cash-out rematch against Ryan and will retire after being beaten by him again.
Assuming Haney were to move up to 147, he would need to beat these welterweights for him to become the #1 P4P:
- Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis
- Brian Norman Jr.
- Mario Barrios
- Eimantas Stanionis
Beating all four of those fighters could result in Haney getting a top spot in the pound-for-pound rankings. He may still have to beat out someone else to get the #1 position pound for pound because only Boots Ennis is highly rated by that group. Haney has the size to fight at 154.
So, I could move up to that weight class and pick Terence Crawford, Sebastian Fundora, or Tim Tszyu to get the #1 position pound for pound. Beating Boots and then one or two of these guys could do the trick for Haney.
Many fans see former two-division world champion Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) as washed up after his 12-round majority decision loss to Ryan Garcia earlier this year on April 20th. Haney was dropped three times in that fight and looked outmatched. He hasn’t fought back since that loss and is now suing Ryan for several things.
They note that undisputed lightweight champion Beterbiev said last week that he is not looking at boxing.
For Haney to come back from that defeat, it could be difficult because his opponents will follow Ryan’s plan, ordering him with short left hooks to the head. Haney couldn’t block that shot all night and was hurt repeatedly.
But these twitter trolls know more than Beterbiev, right? I will be #1 P4P InshaAllah
– Devin Haney (@Realdevinhaney) October 14, 2024
“Devin needs to get his confidence back. So, I don’t think he needs to go back in a rematch, especially with Ryan Garcia,” said Chris Algieri to Probox TV about Devin Haney needing to regain his confidence before fighting Ryan Garcia again.
“I think he needs to find his legs, find his combinations and his timing. All that will be important as a boxer.”
“I gave Haney a hard time, but I still think it’s sweet that he’s suing, and he’s suing for a lot of different things. A lot of different things, and hopefully one of those things will stick,” said Tim Bradley .
