No Knockout for Devin Haney, But He Outclasses Gamboa to Retain His Title

Stylish Devin Haney couldn’t get the knockout against former champion Yuri Gamboa but showed off superior fighting skills in retaining the WBC lightweight title and winning by unanimous decision on Saturday.

“He was a real crafty fighter,” said Haney of his veteran foe. “I knew he was going to be scrappy.”

Haney (25-0, 15 KOs) expected to grab a knockout over Cuba’s Gamboa (30-4, 18 KOs) but settled for a dominant performance instead in retaining a version of the WBC title at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

The Las Vegas resident Haney, who won by scores of 120-107, 120-107, and 118-109 was never in trouble.

From the opening round the slender lightweight displayed his buttery smooth skills that kept the always dangerous but shorter Gamboa at arms distance at all times. Like a sharp-shooting sniper, Haney did his work with deadly accuracy.

Gamboa had been knocked out in all of his previous losses and knew before stepping into the ring that Haney was bent on winning by knockout, not a decision. That knowledge proved beneficial in establishing a fight plan for the Cuban that he maintained until the last round.

Haney badly wanted and needed a knockout to prove to the rest of the extremely talented lightweight division participants that he was just as worthy.

“I hit him with big shots. He’s a true champion,” said Haney who was defending the title for only a second time. “I wanted the knockout.”

There was no question Haney has the talent but maybe not the power at this juncture of his career. He is a mere 22 years old and may not have his man strength.

Perhaps the other lightweights should fight Haney now when his power has not been fully developed. Later, may be too late. The owner of the other version of the WBC title is Teofimo Lopez, who also holds the IBF and WBO titles as well after defeating Vasyl Lomachenko last month.

“Teofimo Lopez is out there, that’s the one I want,” Haney said.

Other Results

Heavyweight prospect Filip Hrgovic (12-0, 9 KOs) of Croatia won by stoppage at 43 seconds into round five over Detroit’s Rydell Hooker (26-4) who had been knocked down in the second round.

Zhilei Zhang (22-0, 17 KOs) knocked out Devin Vargas (22-7) at the end of the fourth round in a heavyweight fight.

Super bantamweight Darren Cunningham (12-0) defeated Juan Gabriel Medina (11-5) by unanimous decision after six rounds.

Welterweight Reshat Mati (8-0) stopped Marcos Mojica (17-6-2) by technical knockout in the second round.

Russia’s Movladdin Biyarslanov (7-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Juan Martinez (28-10) in the first round of their super lightweight match.

Undefeated featherweight Raymond Ford (6-0, 3 KOs) kept his record intact with a third-round stoppage over Rafael Reyes (18-11).

Photo credit: Ed Mulholland / Matchroom

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