Three-division world champion and former opponent of Devin Haney, Jorge Linares, has offered his prediction ahead of Haney’s bid to become a two-weight world champion against Regis Prograis this weekend.
Haney outpointed the recently-retired Venezuelan in 2021 and went on to become the undisputed lightweight champion within two fights. Now, the 25-year-old will vacate all the belts to step up to 140lbs, where he will challenge for Prograis’ WBC title.
In an interview with Fight Hype, Linares praised the move and explained that the undefeated American is more suited to the weight-class, where he expects him to score more knockout victories but predicted a points win on his 140lbs debut.
“I think that he made an amazing decision to move up to 140lbs because of the weight, he cannot make 135lbs any more, it is very difficult for him and he is a young guy. It’s not an easy fight for him but he can win by decision, I don’t think that fight will finish by knockout, but he has a lot of potential.
“This is the best moment for him, he needs to enjoy that because at 140lbs there is a lot of good boxers and if he tries to move up to 147lbs, it’s not the same. Let’s see what kind of fight he wants to make at 140lbs right now.
“Look at me, remember when I started training with [Ismael] Salas? I made better knockdowns in the gym and in the fights, he pushed me something different, don’t jump in too much and sit down [on your punches] and the KOs will come. I think if Haney changes something, maybe he can be better and you can feel his punches.
“He can be better at 140lbs, 100%.”
Haney has won by unanimous decision in each of his last seven outings, a run dating back to 2019, but fans will get to see whether he carries more power at super-lightweight on Saturday night live on DAZN.