Terence Crawford believes that Devin Haney is the guy that could give lightweight champions Teofimo Lopez and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis real problems with his boxing ability. Crawford feels that Haney (25-0, 15 KOs) and undisputed lightweight champion Teofimo (16-0, 12 KOs) might have too much size for the 5’5” Tank.
Terence sees the 5’8” Haney’s size and countering ability being a problem for Tank Davis. Haney, 22, would have to improve on his punching power for him to deal with Tank or Teofimo Lopez.
The consensus is that Haney is too weak of a puncher to beat Tank Davis or Teofimo Lopez. Without the ability to score a knockout, Haney would be forced to go 12 rounds with both and take many massive shots each round to try and win them.
The question is whether the judges will be impressed with Haney’s boxing more so than the big punches that Teofimo and Tank would be landing on him.
If the fights were to occur in a country where the judges put more weight on the amateur style that Haney uses, they’d ignore the huge shots that Tank and Teofimo are hitting him with.
But be it that Haney would be fighting in the U.S against those guys, he could be in for a long night of misery.
In Haney’s last two fights against Yuriorkis Gamboa and Alfredo Santiago, the fans complained about Devin being boring and lacking power.
Haney beat both of those guys by wide decisions, but neither was anywhere close to being super talented. Gamboa, 39, didn’t let his hands go and fought like he was trying to survive.
Crawford picks Teofimo to beat Tank
“I was actually picking Teofimo to win because he’s bigger, he’s fought the better opponent [Vasily Lomachenko], and I just feel he’s going to neutralize Tank jumping in with that uppercut,” said Crawford to Fighthype.
“Tank is a tremendous talent, and it would be a hell of a fight, but I just got to learn a little bit towards Teo. I’m the type of guy where it doesn’t matter if you’re with Top Rank or not. I got to go with what I feel,” said Crawford.
The 5’8″ Teofiimo would make it difficult – but not impossible – for the powerful 5’5″ Tank Davis (24-0, 22 KOs) to get to him. Davis, 25, has a southpaw stance, and he’s hard to keep on the outside due to his quick feet.
Lopez, 23, had all he could handle in defeating the injured Vasily Lomachenko last month on October 17th. That was was with Lomachenko not throwing punches for the first seven rounds.
When Lomachenko, 32, went on the attack from the eighth round, he had Teofimo looking in distress and exhausted, which is a red flag for future fights.
Teofimo can’t handle pressure or fast-paced fights
Clearly, Teofimo’s stamina and ability to handle heavy pressure are now serious questions after what we saw in the championship rounds against Lomachenko.
You better believe that Tank Davis and his promoters at Mayweather Promotions will have noticed what Lomachenko could do with Lopez when he put him under pressure.
What could be the main reason why Teofimo wants no part of a rematch with Lomachenko is that the talented Ukrainian knows how to beat him now. In other words, ‘Hi-Tech’ Lomachenko has downloaded all the information he needs to deal with Teofimo a defeat if they were to fight again.
The only thing Lomachenko needs is to be 100% healthy and the chance to fight Teofimo, which he’s not going to get.
Teofimo can punch like no tomorrow, but he wears down fast when pressured and forced to fight for a full three rounds. In some ways, Teofimo is like Canelo Alvarez with the way he tires quickly when pushed.
Devin Haney could top Teofimo and Tank
“Haney is the one Teofimo and Tank must watch out for
“I don’t know [if Tank can take Teo]. But the one fighter they better watch out for is Devin [Haney],” Crawford said.
“Devin is a boxing mother f****. I don’t care if people don’t like him.
“He don’t got to [slug with his opponents]. No, he’s not,” Crawford said when told that Haney is going to have to stand and fight if he takes on someone like Teofimo Lopez or Tank Davis.
“Hey, he’s been doing it. Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. We’re going to have to see what comes. He’s [Haney] tall, he’s long, and he’s fast, so it’s going to be hard to get in there. When you get in there, you’re going to have to take a couple of jabs, counters, and whatnot,” said Terence.
Right now, the 22-year-old Haney might not have enough punching power to keep fights like Teofimo or Tank Davis off of him.
Moreover, Devin’s Mayweather-esque style of fighting is too slow of a pace for him to deal with a guy like Teofimo, who thrives on slower fights.
It would be better for Haney’s promoters at Matchroom Boxing to keep him away from the likes of Lopez and Gervonta for a few years until he develops his man-strength if he ever does.
If Haney fights Davis or Teofimo now, it could end badly for him with them both knocking him out. Better options for Haney, 21, would be to face the Ryan Garcia vs. Luke Campbell winner.
Both of those guys will give Haney a run for his money and give him a glimpse of what he’ll be up against when or if he ever faces Tank Davis and Teofimo Lopez in the future.
It’s not surprising, though, that Terence Crawford is a believer in Haney, as he’s a boxer himself, and he likes his style of fighting.
The difference is, Crawford has power and has been able to defeat some of the harder punchers that he’s dealt with in his career.
Haney doesn’t have the ace in the hole type of power that Crawford has, so he’s going to have to figure out what his plan-B will be when fighters like Teofimo and Tank walk him down and start landing their massive power shots.
What we saw from Haney against 39-year-old Yuriorkis Gamboa earlier this month on November 7th won’t be enough to handle the younger, stronger, and more talented Teofimo and Tank Davis.
Haney has enough offense to do the job
“That’s why I say. Yes,” said Crawford when asked if Haney has enough offense to keep Tank and Teofimo off of him. “It’s going to be hard for Tank because Tank is so small. It’s going to be different with Teofimo, but Tank is so small and short.
“He’s going to jab Tank all day long until Tank gets in and hurts him. Tank is fast as well. Tank is going to have to be in real good shape because when you watch his last fight, he was getting touched up, and Leo [Santa Cruz] is no Devin or Teo.
“We don’t know. I like Ryan Garcia. You see Devin trying to fight more like Floyd [Mayweather], but everyone else has got their own fighting style.
“I’m just chilling right now,” Crawford said when asked what he plans on doing. “I might be in the gym tomorrow. I stay in the gym. That’s one thing people always say. I’m always in the gym,” said Crawford.
No, Crawford is wrong about his belief that Haney has enough offense to beat Tank and Lopez. Throwing jabs and weak counters won’t be enough for Haney to keep Teofimo and Tank honest.
Crawford may not be looking closely at the type of opposition that Haney’s management has been feeding him during his five-year professional career.
They’ve been spoon-feeding Haney against weaker fringe-level fighters and old-timers that lacked the youth to give him problems.
You can’t blame Haney’s management for being careful with him because they got to know that he doesn’t have the experience or the punching power to be thrown in there with fighters like Lomachenko, Gervonta, or Teofimo without him being knocked into oblivion.
