Top contender Devin Haney (21-0, 13 KO’s) firmly believes there is nothing that can stop him in his pursuit to conquer the lightweight division, as he gears up for his DAZN debut against Mexico’s Antonio Moran (24-3, 17 KO’s). The pair meet at the MGM National Harbor, Maryland on Saturday evening, with Haney eager to underline his World title credentials by producing a ruthless display.
Haney – known as ‘The Dream’ – should get an honest night’s work against Moran, who was edged out by former World champion Jose Pedraza over ten rounds in June. Moran has since returned to winning ways with a second round stoppage win in Mexico – but Haney will not let his journey be derailed before he’s hit the heights he believes his talent can take him.
“There’s nothing to stop me from getting to number one, it’s just time,” said Haney. “Timing is everything and my time is going to come. I am only 20 years old, the other lightweights out there better catch me now because I am only going to get stronger and faster so the top guys need to fight me now.
“Boxing is something that I love so it doesn’t feel like a job to me, but the job is not done, I want to be a multi-weight champion and I want to rule the sport as a pound-for-pound star. 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.
“Getting the fights I want has been a challenge, a lot of guys have turned me down, saying there’s no point or not making enough money, so that’s been a real challenge. It’s me versus me, when I am in the gym I am so far ahead of a lot of guys that it’s me challenging myself, pushing myself, seeing how far I can go rather than seeing how far I can outrun another guy – how fast can I push myself?
“The landscape is very interesting right now. A World title is very important to me, over money and anything else, being World champion is the ultimate goal. To be a World ruler at 20 would be history, the youngest in the game. My ring IQ at my age is crazy, I’m able to adapt and adjust, I’ve been in there with so many great fighters like Floyd Mayweather, Shawn Porter, Amir Khan, and I’m able to adjust.”
Haney’s clash with Moran is part of a big night of action in Maryland, where rising heavyweight Croatian talent Filip Hrgovic (7-0, 5 KO’s) will be taking on Gregory Corbin (15-1, 9 KO’s) on his US debut. Michael Hunter (16-1, 11 KO’s) tackles Fabio Maldonado (26-2, 25 KO’s), and WBC World super-lightweight champion Jessica McCaskill (6-2, 3 KO’s) looks to unify the division against WBA champion Anahi Sanchez (19-3, 11 KO’s).