Tim Bradley Favors Haney Over Lomachenko, Tank, and Garcia

Tim Bradley has seen enough from Devin Haney to make him confident that the 23-year-old “young gun” would have the upper hand against some of the top names in the lightweight division.

Bradley, the former two-division titlist and current boxing commentator, was impressed by Haney’s dominant points victory over George Kambosos at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, earlier this month to become the undisputed 135-pound champion. Haney, a native of Oakland, California who resides in Las Vegas, used his jab effectively to keep the Aussie at bay for long stretches in their 12-round fight.

Bradley believes that Haney would notch victories over the likes of Vasiliy Lomachenko, Gervonta Davis, and Ryan Garcia. Bradley is a boxing commentator for ESPN, the same network on which Haney now fights exclusively through his promotional deal with Top Rank Inc.

“I’m gonna let you guys know right now, I think at the 135-pound limit, I think Haney might be the last one standing,” Bradley told FightHype.com. “And everybody’s saying ‘What?’ I know what ya’ll saying right now. Yeah, Tank, yeah. I’m saying Garcia, yeah, you can get that work too. You know, I’m saying Lomachenko, yeah, you can get that work too.”

“Everybody [says], ‘he don’t punch hard,’” Bradley continued. “Everybody keep making excuses for Haney, but what y’all fail to realize is that boy is sweet tactically. That boy is long, he’s strong, he got physical strength, he got good defense to go along with his offense. He’s active up front with his jab. He’s active with his combinations and countering. Like, there’s a lot to Haney.”

Bradley offered a scenario in which Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) could defeat a puncher like Baltimore’s Davis (27-0, 25 KOs).

“Now you imagine a Devin Haney and Tank fight,” Bradly said referring to Davis’ nickname. “[Haney is] going to keep him off by controlling that distance on the outside with those long ass arms he got, that’s what he gonna do. And he gonna move [in] circles.

“Now I say Tank got a puncher’s chance, no doubt about it, a puncher’s chance. But I’m not gonna lie, if they fought I would favor Haney. He’s a slickster, man. I’m telling you right now. And the better the competition, the better Haney you see, as you saw against Kambosos.”

Bradley was also equally confident that Haney could defeat Lomachenko, a three-division titlist and considered one of the most talented fighters in the sport today. Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) recently put his boxing career on hold in order to support his homeland of Ukraine in its fight against the ongoing Russian invasion.

“I would also take Haney over Lomachenko,” Bradley said. “I’m not hesitating, bro. I would take Haney over Lomachenko due to the fact, again, Loma is a shorter fighter. Loma’s been off some time, coming from war. I would say a year ago, or six, seven months ago, yeah, but we don’t know how Loma’s gonna come back from war, seeing dead bodies, and fighting for his country and what he went through physically and mentally, bro, taxing on him and he’s an older fighter.

“Come on, dog, I’m going with Haney, the young gun. Active up front with that jab, boxing ability, sweet right hand, get in and out, make Loma miss, make that small guy swing at air. That’s what it’s all about. Just like he did with Kambosos. Made Kambosos swing and miss in that air. He was air conditioning the whole crowd.”

Haney’s next steps are currently unknown. Under the terms of his agreement with Kambosos’ promoter Lou DiBella, Haney is obligated to give Kambosos an immediate rematch in Australia.