Haney Challenges Ramirez: “This Is His Last Chance” – Will the Former Champion Defy the Odds?

So, here we are, again, with two guys in the ring trying to beat each other to a pulp. Devin Haney, some say undefeated (31-0, 15 knockouts, if numbers are your fancy), is gearing up to fight Jose Ramirez—who’s no slouch at 29-2 with 18 knockouts. And if Haney doesn’t win on May 2nd, well, his hopes for a rematch with Ryan Garcia in October could very well vanish like last night’s dreams. Or nightmares. Whatever.

Now, last week in some glitzy, loud place in Times Square, Haney was yammering on about how he had to “step on” Ramirez to secure that rematch with Garcia—a fight he desperately wants. Or so he tells us. Devin claims this fight is the final call for Ramirez’s career. But come on, if you ask me, Haney’s projecting his own fears—or maybe his wishful thinking.

Title this scrap “Ugly Fight Ahead?” Maybe, depends who you ask. People (you know those folks, always talking) are whispering if Haney—physically or mentally—is ready to rumble past Ramirez, an Olympian for crying out loud, to fetch the hefty paycheck in a Garcia rematch. Cash stirs the world, doesn’t it?

Oh, Haney aims to turn the fight into a spectacle of hit-and-run tactics—sneaky, some might call it, or just surviving. Like his dance with Regis Prograis, I expect he’ll jab, dodge, then hold. Repeat. Rinse. However that saying goes.

Strangely enough, Haney admitted his main focus was all on Ramirez now. Forget October, he says. Well, sort of. “Gotta win this to get to that,” he blankly explains to someone at Ring Magazine. Think Rocky Balboa and that “Eye of the Tiger” montage—but with more strategy, less blood.

As for Devin’s fighting style, well, he isn’t exactly known for bulldozing through opponents. His punches might be trying to find a rhythm, but they’ve rarely sent anyone down lately. So yeah, no one’s betting on him to KO Ramirez. Insiders are saying Haney’s banking on maybe luck, or clinching so much he’ll bore Ramirez to submission. Ironic, if a little funny.

And yet, there’s a kind of grim humor from fans waiting for Haney to step back in the ring. Some are curious. Is the guy even half who he was? Can he survive another round without falling to pieces? That rematch with Garcia—if it happens—could either offer redemption or just flatten any lingering hopes Haney has. People can’t wait for Garcia to stamp his authority all over again. Oh, and people haven’t forgotten how Haney took to the courts after his previous loss to Garcia. Not cool, man. Not. Cool.

But hey, Haney is adamant. Sometimes he reminds me of a motivational speaker, rattling off lines like, “I didn’t get knocked out” and “I’ve been training.” What an uplifting message, but let’s keep toes grounded here—Ramirez ain’t a stepping stone.

Devin is hanging around Big Bear, doing what boxers do: eat, sleep, pray, box. Ramirez, meanwhile, preps to deliver a showstopper, channeling better performances than those Barboza or Barthelemy scraps. His last shot and he knows it. But who knows, boxing is unpredictable, much like this jaunt through my swirling thoughts.

So, there we have it. A bout that’s as much about what it’s not as what it is. Devin Haney in one corner and Jose Ramirez in the other, with an October destiny hanging in the balance. Whatever happens, I’ll probably still remember something completely unrelated. Like the weird noise tires make on snow. Go figure.