LAS VEGAS – The picture-perfect right hand Jorge Linares landed late in the 10th round Saturday night obviously buzzed Devin Haney.
Other than that shot, though, Haney took Linares’ flushest punches without incident during their 12-round, 135-pound title fight. Linares withstood Haney’s hardest punches, too, but Haney expected the former champion to hit harder than he did, especially early in their bout.
“Early on, when I was walking him down, he didn’t have any type of power,” Haney stated during a post-fight press conference. “I didn’t feel any power in the beginning of the fight. But late, I was surprised that he carried power late in the fight. But he showed that he was a veteran. But his power wasn’t what I thought it was. Honestly, I thought he would hit much harder than he did.”
The 35-year-old Linares still tested Haney more than any of his previous 25 professional opponents.
Linares’ rally in the later rounds narrowed Haney’s lead on the scorecards to the point Haney won by just two points, 115-113, on judge Dave Moretti’s scorecard. Judges Patricia Morse Jarman and Steve Weisfeld both scored Haney a 116-112 winner of a main event DAZN streamed from Mandalay Bay’s Michelob Ultra Arena.
The 22-year-old Haney (26-0, 15 KOs) is confident that he answered questions about how he’d handle adversity when he overcame troublesome moments in the 11th round and, to a lesser extent, the 12th round versus Linares (47-6, 29 KOs).
“You know, this is boxing,” Haney said. “You know, if you go in there and you think that you’re not gonna get hit with any punches through a 12-round fight, you know, it’s unbelievable. Especially against a guy who has been in there in the biggest fights, who dropped the guy who’s the best defensive fighter, he has the best legs, the best ring IQ, Loma. He went in there and he hit him with a good shot. And I showed grit. I showed that, you know, I still came out stronger after that. And I showed that I’m a true champion.”
Haney, an Oakland native who resides in Las Vegas, became the first fighter to beat Linares on points since the Venezuelan veteran made his pro debut in December 2002. Each of Linares’ first five defeats resulted in technical knockouts.
Despite that he didn’t get a knockout, Haney feels he made a statement Saturday night.
“I knew that this fight was gonna be a test,” Haney said. “The world knew that it was gonna be a test. This is by far the best fighter that I’ve fought, and this is the guy that dropped Loma. Let’s not forget about that. You know, he went in there and he dropped Luke Campbell. Let’s not forget about that. Every guy that knocked him out, he probably hurt ‘em, besides I would say Cano.
“And I just think Cano caught him with a good shot early, and he couldn’t, you know, he couldn’t get back from it. But other than that, you know, the guys that knocked him out, he dropped them or hurt them. They took punishment in the process. Look at my face. This, right here [a knot on his forehead], is from a head-butt.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
