Haney’s Haunted By Garcia? Ramirez Aims To Expose Lingering Doubts

Trainer Abel Sanchez says Jose Ramirez will show fans that Devin Haney “isn’t where he thinks he is” talent-wise when they fight on May 2nd in a welterweight bout on superstar Ryan Garcia’s undercard at Times Square in New York City.

Sanchez predicts that the former WBC and WBO light welterweight champion Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) will make it very hard for Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) with his experience, high work rate, and pressure.

He’s not ruling out an upset victory for the 32-year-old Ramirez if his trainer, Robert Garcia, has a good game plan for him to follow. However, Abel expects Haney to win the fight. Ramirez is being brought in as a tune-up opponent, albeit a dangerous one for Devin.

Haney’s Layoff

Haney is coming off a one-year layoff and a bad beatdown in a 12-round decision loss to Ryan Garcia last April. We don’t know if that loss has permanently affected Haney’s punch resistance because he was getting hurt with everything Ryan threw from the first round. If there are lingering effects, Ramirez will capitalize on it.

“It’s a great fight, and Jose is going to show us that Devin isn’t where he thinks he is,” said Abel Sanchez to Fight Hub TV about the Devin Haney vs. Jose Ramirez fight on May 2nd. “Devin is going to beat Jose, but he’s going to give him the type of fight that Devin doesn’t expect.”

Haney’s inactivity suggests that he knows he’s not what he initially thought he was. His loss to Ryan Garcia last April was a real humbling experience that took something out of his self-belief. When a fighter fails like Devin did, they can’t forget about what happened.

Haney has likely been replaying the memory hourly of that fight for the last eleven months. If he hadn’t taken an ego hit, he’d have returned to the ring by now because he would have wanted to keep making the good money that he had before his loss to Ryan.

“I don’t think the fight with Ryan is going to have any effect on him. Yeah, he [Haney] might not be able to take the best shot, but Ryan hits hard. I think he’ll work a little bit more on his reaching and his defense. But I think Jose will give him a hard time. I think he’ll give him the type of fight he gave [Arnold] Barboza.”

The shots that Ramirez landed on Barboza in their fight on November 16th last year in Riyadh would do damage to Haney, and it’s doubtful that he could take them with hitting the deck three or four times.

Bombardment 

Ramirez isn’t as fast as Ryan, but his punches still pack a wallop. What makes them more difficult to take is the constant bombardment. He uses a B-29 Superfortress carpet bombing approach in his fights, and it’s hard to take. For a fighter with a glass chin like Haney, he won’t last long under Jose Ramirez’s constant bombing. If that chin hasn’t improved, Devin won’t last long on May 2nd. Ramirez will be swinging for the fences with every shot, looking to capitalize on the cracks in Haney’s armor.

“He’ll just show Devin that he’s not what he thinks he is. He may be one day, but not at this point. He’s not on a Gervonta, Shakur or Lamont [Roach] level, but he may be at one point. I think that’ll be up to [Ramirez’s trainer] Robert [Garcia].

“In watching this last fight with Rayo and Russell fought. I think Robert will think about how he attacks Haney with Ramirez. Ramirez is a better fighter than Rayo. More experienced, I should say.

“If Robert figures that out and puts together a good game plan that Ramirez can follow, you might have that [a knockout victory for Jose over Haney]. I still think Devin wins a decision. A close decision, but a decision,” said Abel.