Veteran trainer Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis made that time clearly when discussing the potential matchup, stressing that Haney’s foundation as a boxer gives him solutions whatever the opponent in front of him.
“Dev got the style,” Bozy said. “He got the style to beat anybody.” said Bozy Ennis to YSM Sports Media.
In a vacuum, Haney’s technique is “elite,” but boxing isn’t played in a vacuum. It’s easy to say a technical wizard like Devin Haney has the solutions for a “wild card” like Rolly, but the mathematics changes drastically once you have a look at the physical and stylistic nightmares waiting at 147 and 154.
If Haney stays at welterweight, the choices are limited, they usually’re dangerous. You possibly can’t speak about Haney “handling any style” without addressing the left hook that dropped him multiple times in his fight with Ryan Garcia. Even with the controversy surrounding that fight, the blueprint for timing Haney’s rhythm is on the market.
Bozy may be talking up Haney’s “purity” as a boxer, but he’s conveniently ignoring the biological and power-scaling partitions Haney is beginning to hit.
Shakhram Giyasov is high risk, low reward. Haney is a prizefighter within the literal sense; he wants the largest checks. Fighting an avoided, high-skill technician like Giyasov doesn’t fit the business model, even when Bozy thinks the style wins.
Conor Benn is a physical powerhouse who fights with a localized aggression that tests a chin greater than Rolly’s wide, looping shots ever could.
Moving as much as junior middleweight looks like a bridge too far for Haney’s current frame. Against Sebastian Fundora, Haney can be giving up nearly a foot of height and an enormous reach advantage. Attempting to “outbox” a 6’6″ giant who fights like a brief man inside is a nightmare for a distance-based fighter like Haney.
Jaron Ennis is essentially the most telling one. Despite Bozy praising Haney’s style, he has been very protective of his own son in interviews, famously saying Haney “higher leave Boots alone.” Bozy knows that while Haney has an important jab, Boots has the peak, the switch-hitting versatility, and the “dog” in him to walk through what Haney offers.
