In his first true step up in competition, Devin Haney wins, but underwhelms against Jorge Linares.

Haney showed a clear and defined strategy in the first half of the fight. He worked his jab quite effectively and repeatedly touched Linares to the body.

Through the first eight rounds, you could argue that Haney won every single round. Hell, I scored the first eight rounds for Haney. He was working everything well.

Linares can still punch, but he clearly doesn’t have the same stink on his punches at this stage of his career (35-years-old & 53 bouts). Some work to the body would have done wonders.

Despite making Linares work through a grinder of body shots and strong jabs, Haney took his foot off the gas pedal in round 9. This allowed Linares to march right into his comfort zone and land some combinations.

The 10th round saw Haney appear to pull control back. However, the end of the round saw Linares land a four-punch combination punctuated by a flush left hand and Haney jelly legging it back to his corner.

Devin Haney wobbles going back to his corner after the 10th! 🤯#HaneyLinares pic.twitter.com/6JNgW7gh98

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) May 30, 2021

Credit to Haney for staying on his feet.

Linares easily won the final two rounds as Haney limped and excessively clinched his way to the finish line.

Linares did not do nearly enough in the first half of the fight. I scored the fight 117-111 for Haney, while the judges scored it 116-112 (x2) and 115-113.

My assessment of Haney is that he was masterful in the first eight rounds. The final four rounds were a bit of a mess. He cannot afford to make the same sort of mistake he made against Linares against one of the other young studs in the lightweight division.

What’s Next for Devin Haney?

Devin Haney just so happens to currently fight in the best, deepest division in the sport. As a result, he has plenty of options.

The lightweight division currently has several young studs (like himself) and a couple of old-guard types among its ranks (named Vasyl Lomachenko).

Haney did enough that he doesn’t need a rematch with Linares, but he should be angling to step into the ring with one of the other lightweight studs.

One of the young studs, Ryan Garcia, called out Haney on Instagram story during the fight.

Ryan Garcia’s IG story after Devin Haney’s fight.

“I would’ve slept you.” 🍿 pic.twitter.com/CDyIkbyEgW

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) May 30, 2021

My list (in order) of who I would like to see Devin Haney face next is as follows:

1. Ryan Garcia
2. Teofimo Lopez
3. Vasyl Lomachenko
4. Gervonta Davis

If you have any thoughts on Devin Haney, Jorge Linares or for anything really (I’m not picky), you can share them with me on Twitter @WilliamFKing. Looking for more Will King? I’m right here!