Gary Russell Jr. says it’s an indication of weakness for Devin Haney to make use of Jose Ramirez as his comeback opponent in May in his first fight since his loss to Ryan Garcia.
The previous WBC and WBO light welterweight champion Ramirez is the warmup fight to get Haney ready for his rematch with Ryan in October. The previous two-division world champion Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) will make plenty of money in his rematch with Kingry and a fight in February 2026 against potentially Teofimo Lopez.
Stepping Stone
It’s still a dangerous fight for Devin because Ramirez is best than anyone he’s beaten except Vasily Lomachenko. Russell Jr. thinks the alternative of Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) as Haney’s tune-up opponent signals that his management is attempting to “preserve” his profession.
It’s a sensible move by Team Haney because he took plenty of punishment in his 12-round majority decision loss to Garcia on April twentieth last yr on the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Devin was dropped thrice and suffered a jaw injury.
It might be foolhardy for Haney to leap right in with the sharks immediately at 147 after 13 months out of the ring coming off. The fight against Ramirez will likely be at welterweight and Devin’s debut on this weight class, despite the fact that he rehydrates within the 160s.
The 2012 U.S. Olympian Ramirez was a fairly good puncher at 140, and he could also be much more powerful at 147. Russell focuses on Ramirez’s recent close 10-round unanimous decision loss to Arnold Barboza Jr. on November sixteenth.
Barboza Jr outboxed Ramirez, but he did a superb job of creating it close ultimately along with his relentless pressure. The scores were 97-93, 96-94 and 96-94.
“With what happened with Ryan, this isn’t the guy to come back back and fight,” said Gary Russell Jr. to MillCity Boxing about Devin Haney coming back against former WBC and WBO light welterweight champion Jose Ramirez in May. “Now, you’re supposed, ‘I’ll fight whoever now. Anybody can get it.’
“Now it looks like, ‘I lost. All right, I’m going to try to fight that one over there.’ They’re attempting to preserve his profession. That’s what people do. I understand it. I understand you attempting to preserve your profession, but from the within looking, Devin Haney and them, you’re imagined to do what’s best for you.”
Russell Jr. doesn’t give any examples of who he feels Haney should fight at 147 for his comeback. There are usually not plenty of options for available contenders within the division. Jose Ramirez would beat many of the contenders within the 147-lb division.
The one decent fighters within the division are Eimantas Stanionis, Jaron Ennis, Brian Norman Jr., and Mario Barrios. Ramirez would give all of them problems. Ennis would probably be an excessive amount of for him, but he’d have a wonderful shot at beating the opposite three champions.
“If that’s the route that y’all feel that y’all have to take, then try this. There’s a flipside of that. Individuals are like, ‘Rattling, he just lost. He lost, and he ran.’ I would like him to come back back, but he got to come back back hard now. Now you come back with that [Jose Ramirez]. That’s not coming back hard. You bought to select your poison and do what’s best for you,” said Russell Jr. about Haney.
“Sometimes, ‘f*** what these people think. It is dependent upon what you’re . Should you plan on being the massive dog, then nah,” said Russell Jr. when asked if he was in favor of Haney fighting Ramirez. “But in the event you’re planning on keeping your head load. ‘I’m going to go ahead and get what I can get.”
Haney is largely ignoring what people consider him because if he was focused on them, he’d face someone really dangerous and sure lose.
Last Updated on 02/13/2025
