Devin Haney
Devin Miles Haney (born November 17, 1998) is an American professional boxer who has held the WBC lightweight title since 2019. As of June 2021, he is ranked as the world's fourth best active lightweight by "The Ring" magazine, Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and BoxRec and fifth by ESPN. Amateur career. As an amateur, Haney won seven National titles. In January 2015, aged 17, he became the youngest boxer to win the Youth World Championships in Reno. He had an amateur record of 138–8 bouts before turning professional in 2015 at the age of 17. Out of  those eight losses, two are from his now rival Ryan Garcia in the amateurs the two have fought four times, both having won twice. USA Junior National Championships Silver medalist in Mobile 2013 World Junior Championships quarter-finalist in Kyiv, Ukraine"'2013" US Junior National Championships Gold medalist in Reno 2014 USA Youth National Championships Gold medalist in Reno 2015 Professional career. Haney turned pro at the age of 17 but could not compete in the United States due to the minimum age regulation, so his first four fights were in Mexico. At regional level he won the WBC Youth, IBF -USBA, IBF North American, WBC International, WBO Inter-Continental and WBA International lightweight titles as a professional. On February 2, 2018 Haney was scheduled to fight Filipino Harmonito Dela Torre in an eight-round opening bout. Dela Torre had problems obtaining a visa and subsequently withdrew from the fight. Unable to find an opponent, the date was scrapped. On January 11, 2019, Haney dominated a very tough opponent in Xolisani Ndongeni on the way to a 10-round unanimous decision win. In April 2019, Haney signed a co-promotional deal between his own company, Devin Haney Promotions, and British promoter  Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing. On May 25, 2019, Haney defeated Antonio Moran via a vicious seventh-round knockout, in his first match under the Matchroom banner. On September 13, 2019, Haney defeated Zaur Abdullaev (11–0) to win the vacant WBC interim lightweight title. WBC lightweight champion. In October 2019, Haney became the youngest (i.e. latest-born) world champion in boxing when he was elevated as the WBC lightweight champion after previous WBC lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko was promoted to "Franchise Champion" by the WBC. Haney vs. Santiago. On the undercard of KSI vs. Logan Paul II in November 2019 , Haney made his first title defense against Alfredo Santiago (12-0), and won by unanimous decision. He injured his shoulder during the fight, requiring surgery that would keep him out until the summer of 2020. He maintained the title "champion in recess." Controversial comments about Vasiliy Lomachenko. In April 2020, Haney claimed that he could beat unified lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko during an interview with 78SportsTV. When asked if would "end the hype of Loma", Haney said, "I'll tell you this. I will never lose to a white boy in my life. I don't care what nobody got  to say. Fight a white boy 10 times, I'm going to beat him 10 times." Haney was criticized for this comment, with many saying it was anti-white racism. Haney came out on Twitter after and said, "I'm not racist and I never will be a racist. I'm chasing greatness." He also said he spoke with WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán and "confirmed to him directly my commitment to be a role model and my absolute rejection of discrimination of any kind." Haney's comments were compared to Bernard Hopkins' declaration that he would "never let a white  boy beat me" before his fight with Joe Calzaghe, which Hopkins lost. Haney vs. Gamboa. On October 2, 2020, it was revealed that Haney would make the second defense of his WBC lightweight title against the former unified featherweight titlist Yuriorkis Gamboa, on November 7, 2020. The bout was held at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, and was broadcast by DAZN. Most media members predicted an easy victory for the reigning champion, which was reflected in the betting odds as well, with most odds-makers having Haney as a -5000 favorite. Haney won the fight by a dominant  unanimous decision, with two of the judges awarding him every single round of the fight, while the third judge scored it 118-109 in favor of Haney. Gamboa was deducted a point in the eleventh round for holding. Haney out-landed Gamboa 133 to 84 in total punches, and 82 to 63 in power punches landed. Haney vs. Linares. In what was seen by many as Haney's toughest test of his career so far, Haney made the third defense of his WBC lightweight title against former three-weight world champion Jorge Linares on May 29, 2021. He won by  unanimous decision with the judges scoring the bout 116–112, 116–112, 115–113 in his favor. Haney controlled the action for most of the fight, but was hurt when Linares caught him with a powerful right-left combination toward the end of the tenth round. Haney survived the final two rounds largely by tying Linares up and negating his opponent's attempts at trying to engage with him. The crowd voiced their displeasure with what they perceived as excessive clinching by booing Haney when he jumped up on the ropes in celebration immediately after the final bell, as well as booing during  the announcement of the official decision. Haney vs. Diaz. Joseph Diaz had been scheduled to defend his WBC interim lightweight title against Ryan García on November 27, 2021, until García withdrew from the fight due to a hand injury. This led to back and forth on social media between Haney and Diaz, culminating in an official announcement on November 3 that Diaz would now be challenging for Haney's full world title on December 4, instead of defending his interim title against García. On the night, Haney defeated Diaz by unanimous decision, with scores of 117–111, 117–111, 116–112 in his  favor. After the fight, the victor announced his desire to face unified champion George Kambosos Jr. for all four major world titles in the lightweight division, stating, "Let's do it for all the belts. The real undisputed." Personal life. Haney was born in San Francisco and lived in Oakland, California as a child, but moved with his father Bill to Las Vegas. He started boxing at the age of seven. He converted to Islam in April 2021.