HOLLYWOOD, Fla.—Devin Haney is not at all concerned with any negative energy met with his social media presence.
In fact, such a crowd only contributes to the bold prediction made by his promoter ahead of this weekend’s title defense versus Miami’s Yuriorkis Gamboa.
“There’ll be a lot more people watching Devin Haney fight live this Saturday, then there was watching Leo Santa Cruz fighting Tank Davis live last week,” Eddie Hearn, managing director of Matchroom Boxing vowed during a recent media rountable to discuss this weekend’s lightweight title fight.
Las Vegas’ Haney (24-0, 15KOs) returns to this ring this Saturday, defending his lightweight title versus Gamboa (31-3, 18KOs). Their bout airs live on DAZN from Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
It comes one week after Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (25-0, 24KOs) delivered a star-making performance in a 6th round knockout of Leo Santa Cruz (37-2-1, 19KOs) to defend his secondary lightweight title and reclaim his 130-pound strap last weekend in San Antonio. The event aired live on Showtime Pay-Per-View, with preliminary figures not yet available as this goes to publish.
Whatever the number of units sold, Hearn and Haney are convinced that far more fans will tune in this Saturday on DAZN, basing it on viewing trends from Haney’s three previous appearances on the platform.
“After Devin Haney fights, people know the results,” insists the unbeaten lightweight, who turns just 22 later this month. “They’re watching whether they like it or not. They’re going in and they’re gonna watch.”
As for the number of viewers who will watch in hopes of seeing him lose, or just to have something negative to say regardless of his performance?
“It’s not something I really pay much attention to,” Haney insists.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
