FIGHT WEEK
lightweight heaven? devin haney will take on joseph diaz jr. friday on dazn. The follow night, gervonta davis will face isaac cruz on pay-per-view.
Devin Haney (26-0, 15 KOs) vs. Joseph Diaz Jr. (32-1-1, 15 KOs)
- When: Friday, Dec. 4
- Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas
- TV/Stream: DAZN
- Division: Lightweight (135-pound limit)
- At stake: No major titles
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: Haney 5-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Jessica McCaskill vs. Victoria Bustos, welterweights (for McCaskill’s undisputed championship); Filip Hrgovic vs. Scott Alexander, heavyweights; Montana Love vs. Carlos Diaz, junior welterweights
- Prediction: Haney UD
- Background: The WBC has designated Haney as its 135-pound titleholder but Boxing Junkie recognizes “franchise champion” George Kambosos as the sanctioning body’s true beltholder. Haney has been angling for a showdown with one of the big-name lightweights but has so far come up empty. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t faced quality opponents, though. He’s coming off the biggest victory of his career, a convincing decision over veteran Jorge Linares in May that enhanced his reputation as a budding star. And Diaz might be a step up from Linares. The 2012 U.S. Olympian recorded his break-through victory in January of last year, when he outpointed Tevin Farmer to win a major 130-pound title. He lost his title on the scale before his first defense and drew with Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov this past February. However, he rebounded by outpointing Javier Fortuna in his first fight as a full-fledged lightweight in July, which gave his reputation a significant boost. The winner on Friday will be a strong position to challenge Kambosos for the undisputed championship.
Gervonta Davis (25-0, 24 KOs) vs. Isaac Cruz (22-1-1, 15 KOs)
- When: Saturday, Nov. 5
- Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles
- TV/Stream: Pay-per-view
- Division: Lightweight
- At stake: No major titles
- Pound-for-pound ranking: Davis No. 14
- Odds: Davis 10-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Sebastian Fundora vs. Sergio Garcia, junior middleweights; Sergiy Derevyanchenko vs. Carlos Adames, middleweights; Eduardo Ramirez vs. Miguel Marriaga, featherweights
- Prediction: Davis KO 6
- Background: Davis was supposed to have fought Rolando Romero but Romero was removed from the card almost a month ago after he was accused of sexual assault. Cruz, the Mexican slugger, agreed to replace Romero. Davis, a huge puncher and fast-rising star, has stopped his last 14 opponents in three different weight classes. That includes an 11th-round stoppage of Mario Barrios in what had been a competitive fight at 140 pounds this past June. The matchup with Cruz is Davis’s first lightweight bout since he knocked out Yuriorkis Gamboa in 12 rounds in December 2019 even though it seems to be his natural weight. Cruz, an aggressive fighter from Mexico, made a splash by taking out veteran Diego Magdeleno in the first round in October of last year. He was less dominating in subsequent fights against Jose Matias Romero and Francisco Vargas, which he won by unanimous decisions. The matchup should be entertaining as both men like to mix it up.
Also fighting this week: Cassius Chaney (21-0, 14 KOs) will take on George Arias (16-0, 7 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round heavyweight bout Wednesday in New York (FITE). Middleweight contender Danny Dignum (13-0-1, 7 KOs) will face Lucas Bastida (17-1-1, 9 KOs) Thursday in London (ESPN+). Also Thursday, junior middleweight contender Kerman Lejarraga (33-2, 25 KOs) will fight Jack Flatley (17-1-1, 4 KOs) in a scheduled 10-rounder in Bilbao, Spain.