Haney’s Footwork Drills: Ignoring the Real Threat

Devin Haney showed off his fancy footwork on social media, preparing for his March 25 return on BLK Prime. Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) posted a video of him working out on a grass field, using soccer-like movements with his feet.

The left hook problem

The real question is how foot movement will help Haney, 26, in a fight. His problem was taking headshots from Ryan García, not using football agility drills. Devin needs to look into different training to block the left hook.

Former two-division world champion Haney’s rumored opponents for his March 25 matchup are these guys:

• Adrien Bronner
• farmer tevin

They are both in their 30s and haven’t beaten anyone of note in many years. All the footwork Haney showed in his training video is a waste for him if he’s going to fight Broner (35-5-1, 24 KOs) or Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs).

A young AB from 2010 to 2012 would be torture for Devin, but he hasn’t looked the same since he was defeated in a 12-round unanimous decision loss to Marcos Maidana on December 14, 2013. That loss took something away from Broner.

Former four-division world champion Broner is coming off a 10-round unanimous decision loss to Blair Cobbs last year on June 7. Cobbs knocked him down in the second round and dominated the rest of the way.

Former IBF super featherweight champion Farmer lost his last two fights to William Zepeda and Raymond Muratalla. Since Farmer hasn’t beaten a world-class fighter since his victory over Guillaume Frenois in 2019, it doesn’t make sense for Haney to use him as his warm-up opponent.

What Haney needs is a crash course in how to block the left hook because that’s the weapon Ryan Garcia and Jorge Linares used to hurt him in fights. Fighting Farmer won’t help Haney, and the same with Broner. Those guys are too old and past their prime to be of any use to Devin.