Haney Passes First Career Test

Devin Haney checks the boxes for being an elite fighter, with a strong in-ring IQ, and unmatched quickness and physical traits, Haney seems destined for big things, and his 12-round win over Jorge Linares was yet another accomplishment, that felt like high-school graduation for a future medical doctor – in short, the first of many great achievements if Haney takes the right road to stardom.

Haney, who at the highest level is appearing to be a fighter who is fine with taking his opponent all 12-rounds, was offensively aggressive in this bout fighting in the mid-range more often, displaying a great right uppercut, that willingness to fight inside also saw him getting hit more than in previous fights, albeit Linares is the best fighter Haney has faced.

Haney has the talent, the skills, the physical traits of NFL player and style to beat or challenge any fighter in the world – now it will come down to can he fill the void of Floyd Mayweather, as a lot of his style, and fans drawn to his style are getting memories of the great prizefighter that many spent two decades of their life with. Though not fair, it will always be the comparison that Haney will be judged by.

So far defeating a four-time, three-division world champion Jorge Linares, and taking his best punches, which have hurt many fighters, is a great starting point, as Haney looks to leave a strong mark on the sport moving forward. Fight fans are a rough bunch as Haney won nine rounds soundly and lost probably about three rounds at the end of the fight, as the forward pressure of Linares who started out muscle-bound and stiff, looking to wait and react, taking Haney into deep waters, and offering Haney a stern test, late even rocking Haney with a shot at the end of the round. Haney is constantly growing, and not at all the final product of what he will be, the fight against Linares was a good learning experience about what a veteran can do in there, and a fight Haney can grow from.

Haney can grow from this fight as it appears Haney’s only adversity came from trying to prove a point in this fight rather than boxing Linares, which is a fixable issue. The big thing movie forward will be, is Haney willing to box for 12-round and win, or does he want to prove a point to fighters and critics about his punching power?

Bill Haney The Director Of The Show

The next question that will come from last night might be the perspective of voices in the corner. Haney, who is trained by his father Bill Haney, have opted for a collection of assistant coaches over Devin’s life to offer insight from Floyd Mayweather Sr., Mike McCallum, Mickey Bey, and now Ben Davidson. Nothing is wrong with this approach, it is simply an approach. The thing is at the million-dollar level, every approach will be looked at with a microscope. In the NBA, or NFL, this wouldn’t be strange, but in boxing, this is a culture shock.

The way I see it is – Bill Haney, the father and head coach of Devin Haney functions as a director and overseer to Devin as well as protects Haney from outside influences. The approach Bill Haney has had to boxing, I see is, Haney, functions as a movie director, ordering the actions, and making sure everything is working soundly, and the co-trainers are functioning in a capacity of filmers or sound designers, sculpting, and helping create Bill Haney’s vision.

The concept is a boxing college of sorts, as Devin Haney has got to experience and grow from some of the world’s best, while having the constant of his father, Bill Haney, always there for stability and to know the system Devin functions best with and keep things similar to how they have been in the past, while new coaches offer new teachings. Boxing is something that has been done the same way for 100-years, and change is always questioned for better or worse.

No better example could be the long-term relationship with Victor Conte, and SNAC System, as Haney has entrusted one of the premier boxing sports scientist to help him maximize his training and weight-cutting methods. Haney is all about having the best people around him to grow from, at all times.

Nonito Donaire 1, Father Time 0

At 38-years-old, Nonito Donaire became the WBC bantamweight world champion, and now has become a nine-time world champion, as the hall-of-famer is all but a lock to be known as one of the great little men in the sport of boxing ever. In a vintage, Donaire performance he dropped Nordine Oubaali, the champion at the time, in the third round, and then again before the bell. Oubaali was cheating trying to throw an uppercut from the outside, and with Donaire, a great power-puncher with timing.

After the bout, Donaire made it clear to Showtime.

“The king is back,” said Donaire seconds after the fight.

Donaire, a generational great now has a few good fights he can target at bantamweight as he looks to unify all the belts, as fights with Naoya Inoue, the man Donaire lost to in the 2019 fight of the year, as well as Guillermo Rigondeaux, who holds a win over Donaire that many saw as the end of Donaire’s HBO run, are two world champions that would make for interesting fights.

Donaire, who has always been great, has only ever been questioned in his love of training and his willingness to push himself to the limits. Donaire in the final act of his career seems as committed as ever to the sport of boxing.

Very few fighters will every have the career Donaire is having, though his prime was overshadowed by fellow Filipino countrymen, Manny Pacquiao, Donaire is getting the respect he truly deserves at the end of his career, as one of the greatest to ever do it.

Donaire is an all-time great.

Pascal Test Postive For PEDs

WBA light heavyweight world champion Jean Pascal failed a VADA drug test, so his world title fight, serving a co-main event, for Floyd Mayweather vs Logan Paul, against Badou Jack on PPV this Sunday, June 6th, is now off. Pascal failed for Drostanolone, Drostanolone Metabolite, and Epitrenbolone, which was first reported by Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole.

The reason VADA testing is so vital is that it includes a carbon isotope ratio test, known to some as the “nail-in-the-coffin test”, which to the best of my understanding can tell if a synthetic or non-organic substance is existing in the athletes body, which go undetected in other tests, such as WADA, etc.

Pascal, who has a late-career resurgence beating Badou Jack in his last fight, Marcus Browne for the WBA light heavyweight title, and Ahmed Eliabli, with Eliabli and Browne both being undefeated at the time Pascal beat them, casting major doubts over those two wins in my eyes, after Pascal’s positive test, which is caused major finnicial losses for both fighters.

Pascal ironically was an anti-doping advocate when fighting Bernard Hopkins, a decade ago, even wearing a shirt to the press conference that read “Take the test!”

Pascal has issued a statement, you can read in the highlighted text, but for Pascal, and the substance he was caught with, the future looks bleak and damning.

Antuanne Russell Is Here

Coming to the ring looking like Jimi Hendrix, and fighting like a southpaw Mike Tyson, Gary Antuanne Russell has been moved rather non-discrete, but as of Saturday, with his Showtime debut that is no more. Russell, the youngest brother of the fighting Russell family, which includes WBC featherweight world champion Gary Russell Jr., and bantamweight Gary Antonio Russell, battered and beat Jovanie Santiago before the corner called a halt to the bout in the sixth round.

Santiago in February on Showtime, fought former world champion, Adrien Broner, to a narrow decision loss with Showtime’s Steve Farhood scoring the bout for Santiago. Santiago’s reward, a return to Showtime was a cruel one as the 2016 Olympian, Russell, was far too much, dropping Santiago in the fourth, cutting him in the fifth and stopping him by the sixth.

Russell looks like to be a future superstar, from the way he talks to the way he fights. After the bout, Russell made it clear he wants Adrien Broner next, but at this point, Antuanne Russell, who seems about a year-and-a-half away from being able to fight anyone in his division, will more than likely have trouble getting opponents in the ring with him. I expect a fighter like Adrian Granados to be the type of opponent we next see for Russell, though Broner would be a welcomed surprise.

Subriel Matias

Amry of the Dead was recently released on NetFlix, a typical zombie movie directed by major motion picture director Zach Snyder, which is based around greed, with an allegory around our own lifespan. See in movies, zombies don’t kill you like a typical monster like Micahel Myers, Jason from Friday The 13th, etc, they overwhelm you, you hold them off for as long as you can until you can’t. The movies are often morbid, question our own relationship with people and life-and-death.

Enter Subriel Matias. A fighter who doesn’t have one-punch KO power, but has an iron-chin, and is willing to overwhelm opponents with volume. The scary side of this was evident when he beat Maxim Dadashev, when Buddy McGirt rightly stopped the bout in the corner, and Dadashev passed away

Subriel Matias reminds me of the attack most zombie have in those movies, not that he is a zombie, but that his volume is deadly, and will-breaking. Matias’ lone career loss to Petros Ananyan, was the only time Matias’ has been down in his career, and was two-fights removed from the Dadashev fight, and on the Wilder vs. Fury II undercard, albeit we don’t know how good Ananyan is yet, so the loss could look better in years to come.

Matias since has now beaten Malik Hawkins earlier this year, and Batyrzhan Jukembayev, as both fighters had their corner’s stop the bout in between rounds. Matias is now the number one contender for Josh Taylor’s IBF super lightweight title, and a fighter, that many won’t want to face as you can’t box Matias, you have to fight the tough Puerto Rican.

 Subriel Matias is now the #2 for the IBF super lightweight division, Lewis Ritson is facing Jeremias Ponce, for the #1 contender for the IBF, if Josh Taylor vacates the belt, Matias would face the winner of Ritson vs. Ponce.

Chantelle Cameron Makes A Statement

WBC Super Lightweight World Champ Chantelle Cameron made a statement stopping former world champion and veteran of the sport, Melissa Hernandez. Cameron checks all the boxes to be a star in women’s boxing, as she has an action-style, seems to be a gym rat who lives to entertain the fans.

In a fight or two, Cameron should start getting bouts with all of the other big name fighters in women’s boxing, whether it is undisputed lightweight world champion Katie Taylor, Jessica McCaskill, Amanda Serrano, or even a Tasha Jonas. Cameron’s U.S. debut was memorable, but most telling was the fact, that felt natural for her to be in the co-main event, which is telling.

Cameron has the type of power and aggression rarely seen in women’s boxing, and is must-see-television, if you enjoy women’s boxing. Much credit to Jamie Moore, her coach, for getting her to this point.

Quigley Now Ready For Munguia

Jason Quigley beating Shane Mosley Jr. might not be a historic win in the record books, but it was Quigley first major win picking up the WBO NABO Middleweight title, the current WBO middleweight world champ is Demetrius Andrade, and Quigley called for the bout afterward.

Quigley was signed to Golden Boy Promotions, around the time, Conor McGregor became the biggest UFC fighter ever, with a country behind him, I am sure hopes were high Quigley would be a big draw. So far it hasn’t happened and a loss to Tureano Johnson didn’t help things.

Quigley now working with former world champion Andy Lee seems improved, but still gets hit a bit, as he wore a black-eye to the ring for the Mosley Jr. fight. Quigley is getting to the point in which he will be in big fights, and we will see if he will ever go to the next level.

Amari Jones

At 2-0, a Bay Area native, being billed out of Oakland, Ca, super welterweight Amari Jones has been featured heavily on ITRBoxing.com, and we wanted to take not of his first-round KO of Jonathan Burrs. Jones is signed to Devin Haney Promotions.

Next Week’s Boxing

• Floyd Mayweather versus Logan Paul, an exhibition on Showtime PPV, Sunday, June 6th, as we see Mayweather, one of the greatest boxers ever, take on a celebrity with a massive social media following, at the Hard Rock Stadium, in Miami, Florida. The troubling trend in boxing is, we’re so interested in some celebs, novelty bouts such as this one, hold more interest to many than actual fights. The bout was originally set for the day after the Triller Teofimo Lopez vs George Kamobsos Jnr PPV, but that card moved back to June 19th from it’s original June 5th date, because of this fight.

• Former super welterweight world champ, Jarrett Hurd, will face Luis “Cuba” Arias, who sparred Gervonta “Tank” Davis, for the Leo Santa Cruz camp. The bout serves as a good trajectory fight, as Hurd was once viewed as a PPV guy, but a loss to Julian “J-Rock” Williams, has seen Hurd highly inactive, and COVID-19 didn’t help things. This is also Hurd’s first fight as pro without his father, Fred Hurd Sr., who passed away earlier this year.

Arias is a former Roc Nation Sports boxer, who has never picked up the marquee win in his career 0-2-1 in his last three fights losing to Daniel Jacobs as well as Luke Keeler, and getting a draw with Gabriel Rosado.

• The card will also showcase the next era of Mayweather Promotions boxing as Dorian Khan Jr., Jalil Hackett, will make their debuts, and recent signee to the promotion Micky Scala as well, as this card could showcase a lot of the young talent Mayweather Promotions has to offer and serve as a fun evening of boxing for those who have a budget to watch this event.

• Heavyweight Daniel Dubois will fight for the first time since losing to Joe Joyce by stoppage, taking on former Jarell “Big Baby” Miller, and Kurbat Pulev opponent, Bogdan Dinu. It is largely believed that Dubois will return to form with a knockout after being stopped to Joe Joyce via an eye injury, but Dubois is a U.K. fighter whom many have high hopes for.