In all sports, the fans are treated to what’s known as a generational talent. A sports figure who is on top of his or her game for a long period of time. In the sport of boxing, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was that person. He dominated his opponents with speed, punching accuracy, incredible defense, and knowledge of the sport. In the boxing game, Mayweather was known as the Pound for Pound King. Now that Mayweather has retired, the position is up for debate. The boxing game has many talented boxers, but no one has clearly inherited Mayweather’s throne.
On Saturday night at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, 20-year-old Devin “The Dream” Haney put the sport on alert as he sent his opponent Antonio Moran into dreamland.
From the opening bell, the lightweight contender displayed speed, quickness, and ring generalship. He dominated the first six rounds with his jab, combination punching, and a potent body attack. In the seventh round Haney hit Moran with a right to the body and followed it up with a crushing overhand right that sent Moran to the canvas. Moran was counted out and Haney was declared the winner.
The 20-year-old prodigy showed all the tools you expect to see from a boxer you would classify as elite. The Moran fight was Haney’s debut on DAZN, which is a subscription video streaming network dedicated to sports events. Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn was thoroughly impressed with Haney’s performance. “That was like watching an artist draw a beautiful picture and then at the end just sign his name off and walk away into the night,” Hearn stated. Haney improved his boxing record to 22-0 with 14 knockouts. “I wanted to make a statement. There were a lot of rumors that I didn’t have punching power, I couldn’t knock guys out, but as you see, I can. I broke my opponent down, then I knocked him out,” Haney said.
The MGM National Harbor hosted an entertaining night of boxing as Baltimore super middleweight Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson delivered an impressive first-round knockout over Rafael Garcia. Lightweight Luis Gerardo Perez won by decision over Mack Allison. Welterweight Daniyar Yeleussinov won by decision over Luis Norambuena. The women’s junior welterweight title bout was a thrilling slugfest as Jessica McCaskill won by unanimous decision over Anahi Sanchez. Heavyweight contender Michael Hunter knocked out Fabio Maldonado in the second round. In the co-feature, heavyweight Filip Hrgovic knocked out Greg Corbin in the first round.
It was a great night of boxing, but the night clearly belonged to lightweight sensation Devin “The Dream” Haney. His brutal knockout of Antonio Moran is definitely a knockout of the year candidate. His movement, offense, defense, and ring IQ mirrors the great Floyd Mayweather Jr. It’s not surprising considering in addition to his trainer and father Bill Haney, Devin has worked with Mayweather Jr, Mayweather Sr, and Roy Jones Jr.Â
“Floyd Jr. and Floyd Sr. have been inspirational to us. We’re operating off the Money Mayweather blueprint,” Bill Haney stated.
Devin “The Dream” Haney is one of those talents you would classify as special. It’s very apparent that this elite prospect has multiple world titles in his future.Â
Photo credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing
