Nineteen-year-old Devin Haney turned in an impressive performance in a unanimous decision victory in his second consecutive ShoBox: The New Generation main event on Friday night, dominating veteran Mexican fighter Juan Carlos Burgos on SHOWTIME from Pechanga Casino Resort.
The prodigious Haney (20-0, 13 KOs) of Las Vegas used the entire ring to dominate the former three-time world title-challenger Burgos (33-3-2, 21 KOs). Two judges scored the fight 100-90, and the other 97-93 in favor of Haney.
“Burgos is a crafty veteran with a lot of heart but tonight I showed the world why I’m the next super star in boxing,” said Haney, who also promoted his first fight with Haney Promotions. “I’m ready to take on all the champions in the lightweight division. I’m the new money and SHOWTIME is my home. I’m coming for everyone!”
Haney said he won the fight on the inside. “Burgos was softer on the inside,” he said. “Once I started to break him down that took some steam out of him. It depends on who I’m fighting, but I can box on the outside or mix it up on the inside, and tonight I showed both. I used my jab and worked the inside. That was my dad’s gameplan and it worked.”
Longtime ShoBox commentator Steve Farhood agreed that Haney looked impressive on the inside. “I thought at time he should have forced the fight even more on the inside,” Farhood said afterward. “He was the bigger guy. He would do it in spurts, and then he’d circle the ring and that’s when the fans got a little impatient because that’s what we all wanted to see.”
Haney hurt Burgos badly in the sixth landing two right uppercuts, but was unable to finish Burgos, who was fighting after a 13-month layoff. “These veterans don’t go down easy,” Farhood said.
“It’s a natural progression for Devin,” Farhood added. “I didn’t see a lot of snap in his power shots. That’s the only criticism. That and I would have like to have seen him fight on the inside more and land more body shots. It would have been a lot more exciting if he would have gotten the stop.”
Burgos is a natural 130-pounder who was once ranked No. 4 in the junior lightweight division. “I feel this was a test for me. One-hundred thirty-five pounds may have been too much. I’m going to go back down to 130. I’m at my best at that weight.”
He added: “It was hard to fight against a guy that moved so much. He was running up and down the ring. That’s not boxing for me. I’m not going to let this loss defeat me. You’ll see more of me. I’m not going anywhere. Soon I’ll go back to challenge for a world title. You’ll see.”