LAS VEGAS – Devin Haney detects a false sense of confidence from Jorge Linares.
The unbeaten WBC world lightweight champion feels Linares is anticipating a similar version of the 17-year-old Haney that Linares sparred against a few years ago when they fight Saturday night. Haney can’t wait to demonstrate to his most formidable opponent to date the immense improvements he has made since he was a precocious teenager who mostly fought a low level of opposition in Tijuana.
The 22-year-old Haney believes he’ll justify the wide odds on their 12-round, 135-pound title bout by dominating Linares in a main event DAZN will stream worldwide from Mandalay Bay’s Michelob Ultra Arena (8 p.m. EDT; 5 p.m. PDT).
“A very dominant performance,” Haney predicted to promoter Eddie Hearn during a press conference Thursday at Mandalay Bay. “I think the world will be surprised what kind of performance it is. I think even Jorge will be surprised with what type of fighter I am.”
The 35-year-old Linares intends to surprise Haney and the boxing world as well by beating a significantly younger, fresher opponent who oddsmakers have consistently listed as at least a 12-1 favorite. Linares (47-5, 29 KOs), a Tokyo resident raised in Venezuela, has lost five times by technical knockout in 18 years as a pro, but the former three-division champion is confident he has more than enough left to upset the highly regarded Haney (25-0, 15 KOs).
“I’m happy that he said that this was the best training camp, you know, he’s in the best shape of his life,” Haney said. “I’m happy that, you know, because I want the best Jorge Linares, so that when I win that, you know, there’s no excuses and the world knows that he came in a hundred percent.”
However their fight unfolds, Linares appears to represent the toughest test of Haney’s five-year pro career, at least on paper. Linares isn’t the lightweight Haney most wanted to box, but he would be a very credible name to add to Haney’s resume.
Haney, an Oakland native who lives and trains in Las Vegas, stopped Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (13-1, 8 KOs) after four one-sided rounds to win the then-vacant WBC interim lightweight championship in September 2019 at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York.
The WBC elevated Haney to world champion when it designated Ukrainian southpaw Vasiliy Lomachenko as its “franchise” lightweight champ. In his two title defenses, Haney has won a pair of 12-round unanimous decisions over the Dominican Republic’s Alfredo Santiago (13-2, 5 KOs) and another former three-division champ, Cuba’s Yuriorkis Gamboa (30-4, 18 KOs).
“This is the time that I’ve been waiting for,” Haney said. “This is the moment. This is my time to finally shine against someone who’s a credible opponent, someone who the world, you know, thinks can put up a good fight against me, maybe win the fight. So, this is a huge opportunity for me, but this is the time for me to show everything that I’m made of.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.