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I saw I answered this last year. My opinion has changed. The more we get to see these guys fight, the better of an idea we get. Sicko the other day made a great comment on another thread when he said that Haney has the better work ethic (something like that). Devin is always in shape. The guy is still making weight despite being as large as he is. From what I heard, Shakur wasn't really doing what he needed to do to that Robson fight. And I suppose it showed when he missed weight. I'd bet a lot of money that we'll never ever see Haney miss weight. I could be wrong but Haney is extremely focused and dialed in. Probably his father has a lot to do with that.
Haney has the physical advantages. He's bigger. Taller. Longer. Broader. Being bigger will always be an advantage. Neither guy hits hard, but because Haney is the bigger guy, he should be able to hit harder than Shakur. Haney has more KO's too.
Haney has arguably the best jab in the sport. And the jab is the most important punch. Everything is built off of that. Haney is able to really adjust his rhythm and make it hard to time and deal with. Shakur does it too, but his jab isn't as nice as Haney's.
Both guys don't just box but can fight on the front foot. Haney showed that with Linares and JoJo. He was hurt against Linares, but IMO, Linares is a better fighter than any guy Shakur has fought so far. Linares is far better than Jermell Herring and Robson (who's style is still too much like an amateur), even an older Linares. Kambosos is probably better than those guys too. So Haney has had the harder tests/fights so far.
Haney fights dirty but his tactics are more sneaky, more intelligent. I'd like to see him fight with more confidence and not dip, body and clinch so much, but I'd take that over low blows and body slams, which is what Shakur does. And I hate clinching as a tactic to stop the smaller guys offense. Clinching if you're hurt? Okay. But clinching just because? I hate it.
Shakur has the better reflexes. Shakur's defense is better. But how much better? **** Compubox, Shakur was getting touched up by Robson. And he was getting touched up by Valdez, with that lead right, again and again. I think someone is paying off Compubox to inflate Shakur's stats for promotional reasons. Shakur's selling point is to witness the best defense in the sport, so that's how he's being marketed, even if it's not even true. Dmitry Bivol has the best defense, but since when has Top Rank/ESPN cared about the truth?
A couple boxers commented the other day about Shakur. They said that it's a talent to be able to make guys miss by a centimeter. A special talent. But when your defense is making guys miss by a centimeter and not much else (no head movement, stepping offline, etc), then it's bound to be exploited. Think Naseem Hamed. Shakur is better than Naseem because he parries a lot of punches unlike Naseem, but it's the same principle. Eventually, relying on reflexes is going to get you in trouble.
Haney on the other hand has grown. He's using head moment now. He's taking angles. He's quickly getting offline. And of course he clinches, but that's a confidence issue I believe. The more confidence he has, the less he'll do that.
Anyway, the point is that I think Haney is the better boxer. He's improving more and more. Maybe it's due to Haney being criticized all the time and everyone blowing smoke up Shakur's ass so that he feels there's nothing wrong, nothing to fix. But Haney's improving and Shakur has either stagnated or is getting worse.
If these guys ever fight, I'm picking Haney.
TL;DR: I've changed my original pick and I think Haney is the better boxer now.
Haney has the physical advantages. He's bigger. Taller. Longer. Broader. Being bigger will always be an advantage. Neither guy hits hard, but because Haney is the bigger guy, he should be able to hit harder than Shakur. Haney has more KO's too.
Haney has arguably the best jab in the sport. And the jab is the most important punch. Everything is built off of that. Haney is able to really adjust his rhythm and make it hard to time and deal with. Shakur does it too, but his jab isn't as nice as Haney's.
Both guys don't just box but can fight on the front foot. Haney showed that with Linares and JoJo. He was hurt against Linares, but IMO, Linares is a better fighter than any guy Shakur has fought so far. Linares is far better than Jermell Herring and Robson (who's style is still too much like an amateur), even an older Linares. Kambosos is probably better than those guys too. So Haney has had the harder tests/fights so far.
Haney fights dirty but his tactics are more sneaky, more intelligent. I'd like to see him fight with more confidence and not dip, body and clinch so much, but I'd take that over low blows and body slams, which is what Shakur does. And I hate clinching as a tactic to stop the smaller guys offense. Clinching if you're hurt? Okay. But clinching just because? I hate it.
Shakur has the better reflexes. Shakur's defense is better. But how much better? **** Compubox, Shakur was getting touched up by Robson. And he was getting touched up by Valdez, with that lead right, again and again. I think someone is paying off Compubox to inflate Shakur's stats for promotional reasons. Shakur's selling point is to witness the best defense in the sport, so that's how he's being marketed, even if it's not even true. Dmitry Bivol has the best defense, but since when has Top Rank/ESPN cared about the truth?
A couple boxers commented the other day about Shakur. They said that it's a talent to be able to make guys miss by a centimeter. A special talent. But when your defense is making guys miss by a centimeter and not much else (no head movement, stepping offline, etc), then it's bound to be exploited. Think Naseem Hamed. Shakur is better than Naseem because he parries a lot of punches unlike Naseem, but it's the same principle. Eventually, relying on reflexes is going to get you in trouble.
Haney on the other hand has grown. He's using head moment now. He's taking angles. He's quickly getting offline. And of course he clinches, but that's a confidence issue I believe. The more confidence he has, the less he'll do that.
Anyway, the point is that I think Haney is the better boxer. He's improving more and more. Maybe it's due to Haney being criticized all the time and everyone blowing smoke up Shakur's ass so that he feels there's nothing wrong, nothing to fix. But Haney's improving and Shakur has either stagnated or is getting worse.
If these guys ever fight, I'm picking Haney.
TL;DR: I've changed my original pick and I think Haney is the better boxer now.
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