If boxing is to not only survive but thrive in the next decade, Devin Haney will be at the forefront. The 20-year-old, who fights on the Nov. 9 Logan Paul vs KSI undercard, is a boxing champion of the here and now, holding rank as the sport’s reigning youngest titleholder while building clout as a self-made social media star. Although some might say (okay, Gervonta Davis) he was “handed” the WBC lightweight belt, you can’t deny that the Bay Area product has put in the work, work, work to becoming the next “big thing” in boxing.
“I want to be a multi-weight champion and I want to rule the sport as a pound-for-pound star,” Haney said. “When I am the face of boxing down the line, who knows what will happen, but right now those big goals are keeping me motivated.”
Big, bold talk from a pugilist prodigy who has more pro wins (23-0, 16 KOs) than he has had trips around the sun. That’s just one of the fun facts we dug up in our latest Tales of the Tape: Devin Haney.
He made his pro debut in TJ
Haney is mature beyond his years. Case in point. While some teens go to Tijuana to drink, boxing’s top prospect went below the border to make his pro debut. The story goes like this. Haney wanted to turn pro after his 2016 US Olympic team dream was dashed because they raised the age limit. “Once they took the headgear off and changed the age, I decided to go pro,” Haney recalled to ESPN. “I was fighting top guys and it didn’t make sense to keep fighting the top guys with no headgear and for nothing pretty much.” Problem is, no one in the states is going to give a 17-year-old a boxing license so his father Bill Haney took him to TJ where he scored a first-round KO in his 2015 debut. “Everyone thought [boxing in]Tijuana was corrupt, they’re gonna rob you, the judges are corrupt and all that,” Haney told ESPN. “Of course, the whole crowd is against you but everything was pretty much fair.” Haney seemed to have found a second home (turf) on Baja soil where he would have 10 of his first 15 fights.
His Social Media Game is ‘Money’
Haney has been called “Mini-Mayweather” and it’s not just because he’s a world-class boxer. The Las Vegas-transplant shares a lot in common with his mentor, Floyd Mayweather, including how to promote himself. Remember, this is the same upstart who paid videographers to make clips of his Tijuana fights so he could post them on YouTube. Haney’s social media prowess is legendary, whether he’s calling out other fighters on Twitter or humble bragging about his abs on the Gram, the young man is a self-promotional machine. “I was built on social media,” Devin told Bleacher Report. “I didn’t have a gold medal. I did this on my own. Floyd showed us it was possible.”
Student vs Teacher
The teacher going up against his student is a rite of passage where one generation passes on the torch of greatness to the next. For Haney, it happened when Mayweather was training to face Conor McGregor and met his teacher once in the ring. “It was a crazy moment,” recalled Haney to Bleacher Report. “It was a dream come true. When I was in there, it felt like deja vu. Maybe because I had dreamed about it so much. I thank him for giving me the opportunity before he left the game. It gave me the chance to say I’ve been in the ring with him.”
The Haney boxing brand is a family affair
Devin is managed by his father Bill, a music industry vet who’s worked with artists like Aaliyah, Tank and Too Short. The elder Haney saw one-of-a-kind talent be taken advantage of, which is why he advised his son to take his career into his own hands, becoming the youngest fight promoter in boxing history. “All I can say is the future is bright for Devin Haney Promotions,” Bill said. “Things are about to take off for everyone on the team, and boxing in California will be on the rise.” Although the younger Haney ended up signing a multi-million dollar contract with Matchroom Boxing he still controls his brand. “There are a lot of fighters who weren’t able to get any juice out of the fight game,” Bill told Bleacher Report. “We didn’t want to get put on the shelf. We didn’t want to have any misunderstandings with anyone, whether it be a co-promoter or a promoter. Our main goal is getting Devin to the people, and his fanbase keeps getting bigger.”
