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Why Was Devin Haney Criticized After the Yuriorkis Gamboa Fight?
In November 2020, Devin Haney defended his WBC world lightweight title against Yuriorkis Gamboa by way of unanimous decision. Leading up to the fight, ‘The Dream’ wanted to make a statement by knocking out Gamboa; however, he failed to live up to that and simply could not produce a sensational performance.
The main event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino was Haney’s first real test on the big stage. Even though he could not put Yuriorkis Gamboa away in 12 rounds, Devin Haney managed to completely outclass his opponent that night.
The judges closed the night by scoring 120-107, 120-107, and 118-109 all in favor of Haney, and awarded him a unanimous decision win. After the fight, Haney suggested that he was happy with the outcome.
“I thought I put in a world-class performance. Of course, I wanted the knockout, but he was a crafty veteran, he was doing a lot of holding, trying to survive, I showed that I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 27: Devin Haney trains during the Devin Haney Media Workout at Rathbone Boxing Club on September 27, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Jack Thomas/Getty Images)
“Fighting someone like Gamboa was a stepping stone, but I’m here for the big fights. I want to make the biggest fights happen to bring the best out of me,” said Haney after the fight,” said Devin Haney.
Twitter dug into Devin Haney after the Yuriorkis Gamboa fight
Despite his victory, almost all fans expected much more out of him. Fans expected Devin Haney to wrap the Gamboa fight with a knockout, just like Gervonta Davis did. He received heavy criticism from all kinds of fans due to his inability to put Gamboa away.
Teofimo Lopez on Devin Haney
“You had your opportunity against Gamboa & you couldn’t do nothing”
— Boxing Kingdom (@BoxingKingdom14) December 20, 2020
Devin Haney will break people’s bones during sparring sessions, yet he went 12 with Gamboa. He better stop Jorge Linares.
— bombs boxing (@bombsboxing) April 11, 2021
Gamboa got obliterated by Robinson Castellanos. Devin Haney did not put on a “masterclass” . You wanna be hyped up as some P4P star you better put people like that away
— Tom Bob Anderson (@_derekj__) November 8, 2020
Bro where tf is the Devin Haney hype coming from?That man couldnt ko a 1 legged 39 year old Gamboa, tried to exchange with a 35 year old Linares just to lose and get wobbled. Haney got the skills damn sure dont got the IQ
— Biz chalk (@Ttthdhsusnjn) December 1, 2021
I want that devin haney confidence… he speaks like he didn’t just beat gamboa off a torn Achilles loss. And just talks likes he’s beat a top 15 guy in his career
— ChrisCharles26 (@ballinoc26) February 15, 2021
Haney feels Yuriorkis Gamboa was just a stepping stone
Even though he could not secure a knockout win over Yuriorkis Gamboa, Devin Haney proved to be a fine technician inside the ring. He simply outclassed and outboxed his opponent for 12 straight rounds.
In a later interview, ‘The Dream’ cleared the air by revealing that he truly wanted to knock Gamboa out; however, he simply couldn’t pull it off. Haney looks at the Gamboa fight as a “stepping stone” and also suggested that he only wants the biggest fights possible.
“Yea, I wanted to knock him out. I knew that he was durable and that he would try to survive, but… I figured that I could get him out of there but that mother***er stopped me.”
“I wanted the knockout. The key to it was to get the knockout. But like I said, it was just a stepping stone. It was a good experience for me, but the fights that I want are the big fights; you know, it is what it is,” said Haney.
What do you think?
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