Jose Ramirez says he’s looking forward to seeing if Devin Haney can handle his power on Friday night in their 144-lb catchweight fight in the co-feature bout, live on DAZN, with the event start time at 5:30 p.m. ET at Times Square in New York City.
(Credit: Geoffrey Knott)
Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) says Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) hasn’t faced any big punchers like him since moving up to 140. He wants to see if he can take his power because he intends to hit him hard.
Ramirez Ready
“He has a big challenge in front of him. That’s what boxing should be – the best fighting the best,” said Jose Ramirez to Secondsout, talking about his fight against Devin Haney on Friday night. “I feel ready. I feel strong and I feel motivated. He has nothing that worries me.”
Ramirez is one of the better fighters that Haney will have faced in his career. He’s beaten better fighters, but not necessarily as powerful as Ramirez. For Jose to win, he’s got to focus on trying to knock out Haney because he’s not going to outbox him.
“I’m excited to get these extra four lbs in my weight and be introduced to the 147-lb division in this way [144-lb catchweight]. I feel like the best is yet to come. I just haven’t allowed myself to grow. I’ve been hurting my health to make the 140-lb division, and I’m ready to show a stronger and more motivated fighter,” said Ramirez.
Four pounds won’t be much of a difference from what Ramirez has been fighting at. If he’s going to win this fight, he’ll need to put constant pressure on Haney. He’s got to take advantage when he’s in punching range, because he’s going to be using his long reach to jab from the outside. Haney won’t be taking many risks against Ramirez, because he knows he has power.
“No, I’m expecting the best version of Devin Haney. That’s all in the past,” said Ramirez when asked if Haney won’t be the same fighter since losing to Ryan Garcia. “Not all the glory grows through joy. Sometimes you have to go through some punishment, letdowns, and fallout to make you a better person.”
Haney will likely be as good as always, but he’ll still be chinny. He’d been hurt before his fight with Ryan against Vasily Lomachenko and Jorge Linares. Ramirez has enough power to hurt Devin as well if he can catch him with a good shot in close. Haney is vulnerable when he’s trying to hold or when he’s pulling back from a clinch. That’s how Ryan was hurting him.
Underdog Mentality
“I think sometimes boxing takes a popularity influence. So, people get influenced based on the popularity of a fighter,” said Ramirez when asked why the oddsmakers have him as the underdog against Haney. “Honestly, he hasn’t faced any strong 140-pounders. He did at 135 and that’s it.”
Ramirez is forgetting about Haney’s last fight against Ryan Garcia, which was at 140. Ryan has excellent power. Haney’s fight before that was against former two-time light heavyweight champion Regis Prograis, and he’s also a guy with good power at 140.
“His best legacy in boxing has been at 135,” said Ramirez. “I’m not saying he’s not ready for 140, but I think I was one of the best 140s at one point. I’m moving up to 144 catchweight. It’s going to be very difficult for him to take some of that power.
“He likes to bang, too, every once in a while. He’s a very emotional fighter, too. He likes to stay and bang. I’ve seen him caught a couple of times. So, we’ll see if he can handle some power like mine,” said Ramirez about Devin.
