What does Devin Haney’s Win On Saturday Mean For Boxing?

When Devin Haney defeated Regis Prograis to become the new WBC junior welterweight champion, he declared there was a new king at 140 pounds.

Haney doesn’t have the unified gold at junior welterweight yet, but some already agree that he is the hot ticket in this weight class. “The Dream” turned in a stellar performance when he took on Prograis for the WBC hardware this past Saturday night (December 9). It was indeed a one-sided thrashing, and many consider it to be the best performance of Haney’s pro boxing career. He took every single round of the fight and even dropped Prograis in the third round. Devin Haney ultimately took home a unanimous decision victory.

There are some potential major implications following Haney’s dominant victory, and what that might look like for the future of not just 140 pounds, but even possibly 147 pounds a few short years from now.

Undisputed Junior Welterweight Gold For Devin Haney?

Now that Haney is fully settled in at 140 pounds, the next logical step would be to go after the other champions in the division. Teofimo Lopez is easily the biggest name on the list of other titleholders. He holds the WBO gold after defeating Josh Taylor via unanimous decision in June. The IBF champion is Subriel Matias, and Chris Mannix recently reported that Matias and Lopez have had considerable talks for a title unification showdown in June 2024.

Then there’s Rolly Romero.

Rolly is the WBA junior welterweight champion. While nothing is on the table right now, many have been sold on the idea of Rolly putting his gold on the line against Ryan Garcia. “KingRy” recently dipped his toes near the junior welterweight waters with his 143-pound catchweight fight against Oscar Duarte. Garcia won that fight via eighth-round KO.

Depending on how things shape up in the 140-pound division, Haney could find himself in another title unification bout in the future.

Eventual Move to 147 Pounds?

Ahead of his fight against Prograis, Devin Haney said his ultimate goal is to win a world championship in the welterweight division. How soon Haney wants to fight for gold at 147 pounds is up to him. That said, the chance to unify the titles at 140 pounds sounds too good to pass up for now.

If Haney can achieve the difficult feat of being an undisputed champion in two weight classes, then it’ll open up the door for a big fight at welterweight, although who it would be against by that point is anyone’s guess.

Where Does Gervonta “Tank” Davis Fit In?

Also included in the aforementioned statement from Haney was a big claim on why a fight with Gervonta Davis hasn’t materialized. Haney said that members of “Tank’s” team wanted no part of the fight. Davis’ trainer Kenny Ellis told our own Abraham Gonzalez that Haney’s statement on Gervonta was “all cap.”

Plenty of eyeballs will be on “Tank’s” next move. Fresh off a KO victory over Ryan Garcia, Davis has also claimed he doesn’t want to be promoted as the main WBA lightweight champion after Haney vacated the gold. Is 140 pounds next for Davis, and does the Haney fight eventually happen?

For the good of the sport of boxing, it should.

Fernando Quiles Jr.

Fernando has been covering combat sports and pro wrestling for over a decade. He currently writes for BJPenn.com and has also contributed for Sports Illustrated’s MMA Knockout. Fernando is excited to be a part of FightsATW to provide you with the latest news content in the world of pro wrestling.

See author's posts