I doubt it. The guy seems to have a huge ego, and is surrounded by yes men constantly telling him he’s the next Mayweather. Plus he insisted multiple times after the fight that he was never hurt in the slightest and won every round. Before this fight, I thought he might have a decent chance against Teofimo Lopez, but now I definitely think Lopez knocks him out.
You should see all the nut huggers on his Instagram page...multiple people telling him that he is now the greatest boxer of all time.
Haney changed tactics the last few rounds because he was hanging on for dear life. One decent shot by Linares in the first half of the 11th round would have knocked him out cold.
I don’t dispute that he clearly won the fight, and I agree that he won about 8 rounds. My issue is that he was trash talking Linares after the fight claiming he won every round, refused to shake Linares’ hand, and then claimed multiple times in the post-fight interviews that he was never hurt. Everyone who watched those last two rounds could clearly see he was hurt; he’s insulting our intelligence by claiming he wasn’t. The guy basically just tries to copy Mayweather’s fighting style and personality, but comes up well short in both.
Not sure how he has a poor chin. Linares landed quite a bit as Haney stood in a lot and did not run. It was a good wake up call for Haney. He is now aware he has to be sharp for the full 12 rounds. The kid showed guts. In my opinion he stood in a bit too much when the fight was much easier on the outside. He also should bave worked that body a little more. That was the only time he hurt Linares.
Always take a bit of pleasure watching hyped fighters throwing those fake smiles when they've been hurt and surprised that other boxers have the skills to counter so-far unchallenged slickness. Chin check passed, but so was the reality check too...
I thought Haney controlled the fight well early but when he tried to please the critics the fight looked a lot closer. He landed some aggressive shots that looked to land on the button and it didn't seem to phase Linares and I think that surprised Haney. In round 11, that was what I would consider Linares taking Haney into deep waters because once Haney got rocked (at the end of 10) he was in full on survival mode. It looked to me that it was more a case of Linares letting up than Haney outcrafting Linares. I do not, and will not ever understand why Linares didn't unleash everything. It was very obvious Haney still wasn't right in round 11 and Linares corner HAD TO KNOW he was losing the fight just on him being the B side alone, let alone the fact Haney clearly took most rounds. Perhaps he was spent as he is a shopworn damn near 36 year old. It was the best test Haney has had to date. He is following the blueprint that every other fighter who is supposed to be the next big thing follows. At this stage try to find and fight as many passed prime or overhyped fighters that have names people know and you feel he matches up well with. Gamboa and Linares fit that bill perfectly. I don't see him fighting or beating the likes of Teo, Vasily, Gervonta or Garcia right now. I feel like his best shot would be against Gervonta based on styles but we won't be seeing it IMO. I would say Loma but I am doubting Haney could hurt him and that is what he would need to win. Just my opinion though.
He does have an ego larger that the arena he fights in. He couldn’t even acknowledge he was hurt. He was hurt and to the point he had wobbly legs going back into his corner. He was still feeling the effects in rnds 11 and 12. If he didn’t have an ego the smart thing to say was I was out boxing him all night and got reckless looking for the KO. He caught me with a great punch.
It was a great fight. Credit to Haney for winning but it’s hard to respect the way he ended the fight. His skills weren’t exposed but his character was.
I wonder if they'll watch the fight back and Daddy Haney will be like " YOU WON'T HURT THERE, YOU JUST LOST YOUR FOOTING"
You do realize his page likely has a bunch of semi-casual fight fans who couldnt tell you the difference between a jab and a check hook to save their lives.
