In this video interview with Fight Hub TV, Devin Haney talks a bit about his upcoming fight with Zaur Abdullaev and the potential to earn a title fight against Vasiliy Lomachenko. Check out some excerpts below...
Haney on how he’s feeling leading into this fight:
“I’m feeling good from my last performance. I had a good training camp for that one, and even better training camp for this one so I’m feeling good, I’m feeling ready, and I’m looking forward to putting on another spectacular performance.”
On his SNAC training:
“Victor Conte, he’s been a tremendous help with me in my career. He’s liked helped me so much, and the whole SNAC program has helped me so much. Victor’s really like a scientist so whatever he’s doing, it has a purpose, and he makes sure it has a purpose and you have the proper recovery and everything is like very strategic with him. So that’s the whole thing with the SNAC program, stuff may be unorthodox but everything is for a reason.”
On if he has to cut a lot of weight:
“Honestly, as I’m getting bigger, getting stronger and stuff like that it is getting harder for me to make the 135lb weight limit. So pretty soon I’ma be moving up to 140. It really just depends on how this title shot and how the rankings and how everything plays out but I won’t stay at 135 too much longer if I get a title shot.”
On breaking down his opponent, Abdullaev:
“I watched a little bit of him and I know he tries to put pressure, he tries to break his opponents down to the body. I know at this point that this spot means so much and the winner goes on to bigger an better things so I know he’s gonna give it his all. I know that he’s gonna come to fight, he’s not gonna lay down. So I’m prepared well and I’m ready for whatever he brings to the table.”
On how he thought Vasiliy Lomachenko, a possible future opponent, looked in his last outing:
“Loma looked good but I try not to judge people out of performance because — I been stressing this a lot lately — we’re boxers, we’re humans, we can have an off-night on any given night...but in the fight he showed some flaws. He showed that if a guy like Campbell was a guy with more speed, more ring IQ, a little bit younger and more explosive then who knows what may have happened.
“I think that the 135lb division is a little bit harder for him because guys are much bigger, stronge of course. I think 130, he’s very dominant at 130. 135 might be too much.”
On how he thinks he matches up with Lomachenko:
“I think I match-up well because I have speed, I have movement, I have good ring IQ. I feel like he’s fought some good opponents but he hasn’t fought anybody with a style like mine. And I feel like my style might be tailor-made for him. And I have youth on my side. Lomachenko is not getting any younger, he’s getting older by the day, which he’s still putting on good performances, he’s still a terrific fighter.
“I don’t want to fight him because he’s a bad fighter, I want to fight him because everyone says he’s the best so...”
On why he thinks Lomachenko is tailor-made for him:
“I see that Lomachenko makes mistakes that I can capitalize on...It won’t be easy. At the top level you won’t get no easy fights and I believe so. So I feel like I’m ready and one thing I say, I’m a man, and if someone’s better than me then beat me, show me. And I can take my loss just like a man, I can take it on the chin. I have no problem with that.”