After a one-year layoff, Devin Haney returns to the ring with the ambition of producing a statement win and forcing a rematch with Ryan Garcia.
The "Dream" clashes with Jose Ramirez in the co-main event to Garcia vs. Rolly Romero at The Ring's Fatal Fury: Times Square on Friday night in New York City, and live and exclusively on DAZN PPV.
If both Haney and Garcia win, they'll force the highly-anticipated rematch.
With Haney hell-bent on having his hand raised in style against Ramirez, DAZN News analyzes who has the edge heading into this intriguing bout.
Devin Haney is every bit the pragmatic practitioner, asserting his jab to manage ring real estate and only piecing together combinations once that stick is established.
The style works as it tends to bank rounds toward eight consecutive unanimous decision victories in a streak which was halted by the no-contest result from the April 2024 bout with Ryan Garcia after the latter failed his drug test.
That reliance on his sweet science skills is going to be met by the pressure-packed, forward fighting style of Jose Ramirez.
But Haney has dealt with that kind of style before to solid results. He gets the edge here.
Ramirez touts a higher knockout percentage than Haney at 58 percent to about 47 percent, respectively.
Ramirez’s style also lends itself to power shots as he is going to try to step on the gas pedal, close the distance and unload a high volume of punches.
That power led him to become a unified super lightweight world champion when he knocked Maurice Hooker out on his feet against the ropes with an emphatic sixth-round TKO. But that was back in July 2019.
More recently, Ramirez mustered an 11th-round KO of former lightweight world champion Richard Commey in March 2023, his last stoppage win.
To pinpoint Haney’s last knockout victory, one would have to go back to May 2019 when he stopped Antonio Moran in the seventh round.
Haney has the pressure to perform after a one-year layoff following his debacle with Ryan Garcia last year. That bout had him dropped three times en route to a majority decision for Garcia that was later changed to the no-contest.
Consequently, Haney will be hungry to prove he has not lost a step and a sharp performance against Ramirez will accomplish just that.
A statement win will also force a rematch with Garcia as long as the latter takes care of his business against a rugged Rolly Romero in Friday night’s main event.
It is pressure but pressure that the “Dream” is capable of handling.
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Across three key categories, Haney owns the 2-1 edge.
Ramirez is going to pressure Haney but as long as Haney manages his spacing, he should be able to make adjustments on the fly in order to land the shots necessary to bank rounds and earn a points decision.
Fight fans are in for a treat this week, with two amazing fight exclusively DAZN PPV.
Fight fans can purchase either these fight nights individually for $59.99 US; £/€21.99 UK/IRE; $24.99 ROW per PPV or take advantage of the DAZN Knockout Weekend Bundle where both fight cards can be purchased for $90 US; £34.99 UK and €34.99 Europe.