Lightweight Early career On February 2, 2018, Haney was scheduled to fight Harmonito Dela Torre in an eight-round opening bout. Dela Torre had problems obtaining a
travel visa and subsequently withdrew from the fight. Unable to find an opponent, the date was scrapped. On January 11, 2019, Haney defeated Xolisani Ndongeni on the way to a 10-round unanimous decision win. On May 25, 2019, Haney defeated Antonio Moran via a seventh-round knockout, in his first match under the Matchroom banner. On September 13, 2019, Haney defeated
Zaur Abdullaev (11–0) to win the vacant WBC
interim lightweight title.
WBC lightweight champion In October 2019, Haney became the WBC lightweight champion as he was elevated, after the previous WBC lightweight champion
Vasiliy Lomachenko was promoted to "Franchise Champion" by the WBC.
Haney vs. Santiago On the undercard of
KSI vs. Logan Paul II in November 2019, Haney made his first title defense against Alfredo Santiago (12–0), and won by unanimous decision. He injured his shoulder during the fight, requiring surgery that would keep him out until the summer of 2020. He maintained the title "champion in recess."
Haney vs. Gamboa On October 2, 2020, it was revealed that Haney would make the second defense of his WBC lightweight title against veteran 39-year-old former featherweight title holder
Yuriorkis Gamboa, on November 7, 2020. The bout was held at the
Hard Rock Live in
Hollywood, Florida, and was broadcast by
DAZN. Most media members predicted an easy victory for the reigning champion, which was reflected in the betting odds as well, with most odds-makers having Haney as a -5000 favorite. Haney won the fight by a dominant unanimous decision, with two of the judges awarding him every single round of the fight, while the third judge scored it 118–109 in favor of Haney. Gamboa was deducted a point in the eleventh round for holding. Haney out-landed Gamboa 133 to 84 in total punches, and 82 to 63 in power punches landed.
Haney vs. Linares In what was seen by many as Haney's toughest test of his career so far, Haney made the third defense of his WBC lightweight title against veteran 36-year-old former
three-weight world champion Jorge Linares on May 29, 2021. He won by unanimous decision with the judges scoring the bout 116–112, 116–112, 115–113 in his favor.
Haney vs. Diaz Joseph Diaz had been scheduled to defend his WBC
interim lightweight title against
Ryan García on November 27, 2021, until García withdrew from the fight due to a hand injury. This led to back and forth on social media between Haney and Diaz, culminating in an official announcement on November 3 that Diaz would now be challenging for Haney's full world title on December 4, instead of defending his interim title against García. On the night, Haney defeated Diaz by unanimous decision, with scores of 117–111, 117–111, 116–112 in his favor. After the fight, the victor announced his desire to face unified champion
George Kambosos Jr. for all four major world titles in the lightweight division, stating, "Let's do it for all the belts. The real undisputed."
Haney vs. Kambosos Jr. In front of a sold-out crowd in Melbourne, Australia in June 2022, Haney defeated
George Kambosos Jr. by outpointing and outboxing the Australian fighter to become the first
undisputed lightweight champion in the four-belt era. The judges scored the bout 116–112, 116–112, 118–110, all in favor of Haney. The deal for the fight included an automatic rematch clause which Kambosos exercised, with the rematch occurring in October 2022 in Australia.
Haney vs. Kambosos Jr. II Devin Haney and George Kambosos Jr. met in their rematch at
Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia on October 16, 2022. Haney defeated Kambosos via unanimous decision with the scores of 118–110 (twice) and 119–109.
Haney vs. Lomachenko On March 29, 2023, it was confirmed that Haney would make a second defense of his undisputed lightweight titles against veteran 35-year-old former unified lightweight champion
Vasiliy Lomachenko on May 20, 2023, at the
MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Haney won the fight by controversial decision. However, the decision was greatly disputed, as many onlookers felt Lomachenko had done enough to win, including fellow boxers
Shakur Stevenson and
Jorge Linares, who had previously predicted a Haney victory. Judge Dave Moretti's scorecard, giving round 10 to Haney despite Lomachenko dominating that round, was heavily criticised. Others argued that as the fight had been close, a narrow result for Haney was not unreasonable.
Controversy In April 2020, Haney claimed that he could beat unified lightweight champion
Vasiliy Lomachenko during an interview with 78SportsTV. When asked if would "end the hype of Loma", Haney said, "I'll tell you this. I will never lose to a white boy in my life. I don't care what nobody got to say. Fight a white boy 10 times, I'm going to beat him 10 times." Haney was criticized for the comment. After the fight, Haney announced on Twitter, "I'm not racist and I never will be a racist. I'm chasing greatness." He also said he spoke with WBC president
Mauricio Sulaimán and "confirmed to him directly my commitment to be a role model and my absolute rejection of discrimination of any kind." Haney's comments were compared to
Bernard Hopkins' declaration that he would "never let a white boy beat me" before his
loss to Joe Calzaghe.
Haney vs. Garcia Haney vs
Ryan Garcia was signed for April 20, 2024 in
Brooklyn, New York, for the WBC super lightweight title. Two days before the fight, Garcia agreed to a wager with Haney that Garcia would pay $500,000 for every pound over the limit should he miss weight. Garcia weighed in over the limit at 143.2 lbs, making the fight a non-title fight and would forfeit up to $600,000 of his purse to Haney. Haney was knocked down three times by Garcia during the 12 round contest, and lost via majority-decision. One judge scored the bout 112–112 but was overruled by scores of 114–110 and 115–109 for Garcia, who outlanded Haney 106–87 in total punches and 95–45 in power punches, according to CompuBox. On June 20, the bout was changed to a
no contest, Garcia was fined $1.1 million and suspended for a year due to using
Ostarine, after taking the plea deal over taking it to trial. On June 24, 2024 it was announced that Devin Haney requested the WBC for "Champion in Recess" status. The WBC unanimously approved his request.
Welterweight Haney vs. Ramirez On January 4, 2025, it was reported that Haney would make his ring return on March 25, 2025.
Adrien Broner was rumored as his possible opponent. Later the same month, it was announced that Haney would face
José Ramírez in May. The fight took place in Times Square, New York, on 2 May 2025, with Haney winning by unanimous decision.
Haney vs. Norman Jr. On June 25, Haney and then-undefeated WBO welterweight champion
Brian Norman Jr. (28-0 (2 NC), 22 KOs) verbally agreed to a fight. A week prior, Norman secured a knockout victory in Japan against
Jin Sasaki, successfully defending his title. Four days later, Tuki Alalshikh announced the fight headline a super card in Riyadh, later in the year. The card, billed as
"Ring IV" was formally announced to take place on November 22, 2025. Norman expressed no surprise at Haney's selection of him as an opponent. He commended Haney's determination and resilience, noting that he never shied away from a challenge. Norman believed he would achieve a stoppage win, but he thought his ring IQ, technical skills, and other attributes were not fully appreciated. He was prepared to display his abilities on a significant platform. A confrontation occurred on July 12 in New York, involving Haney's security guard, referred to as Big Tank. During the incident, Big Tank perceived Norman to be too close to Haney and grabbed his shirt, resulting in a rip. Norman then executed a hip toss on Big Tank using one arm. Video footage of the incident later circulated on social media. Haney expressed that he was not worried about Norman's recent series of stoppage victories. He indicated that Norman had not competed against opponents of the same caliber as those he had faced. In August, the WBO placed Haney at #1 in their welterweight rankings, which meant that Norman's defense would count as a mandatory defense. Bill Haney had long predicted that 147 pounds would be the ideal weight for his son. Haney was also surprised at how long he managed to stay at lightweight. Brian Norman Sr. and Bill Haney had an intense verbal confrontation during the last press conference. During the face off, Norman Jr. appeared calm and composed, while Haney displayed a more animated demeanor. Norman weighed 146 pounds and Haney came in at 146.6 pounds. On November 22 at the anb Arena in Riyadh, Haney defeated Norman via unanimous decision to capture the WBO welterweight title. A day later, Crocker also suggested a fight with Haney would be ideal next. He told DAZN, “That’s the biggest fight in the division. There are plenty of options, but if you’re asking me, that’s the fight that I’d want next.” In January 2026, Haney said he was interested in a fight against
Keyshawn Davis (13-0, 9 KOs). This came after Davis told Inside the Ring, that he was willing to move up to welterweight after his junior welterweight fight on January 31. On March 5, 2026,
WBA champion Rolly Romero (17-2, 13 KOs) announced that he had signed to fight Haney on May 30 at the
Barclays Center in New York in a unification bout under the
Premier Boxing Champions banner on PPV. Despite the announcement, Haney's team was still reviewing the financial terms. Romero put out a confrontational statement on social media, claiming he was fully committed and criticizing the Haney camp as “soft and full of lies.” There was also a slight issue surrounding Romero's mandatory challenger,
Shakhram Giyasov (17−0, 10 KOs). His team criticized Romero for avoiding the mandatory. Giyasov had not fought since April 2025 and was unwilling to take a step-aside agreement. A 30-day mandatory notice was given in October 2025, when purse bids occurred. Giyasov’s manager, Vadim Kornilov, was pursuing legal action to enforce the mandatory. He was frustrated that Romero had been negotiating with multiple fighters rather than committing to a fight against Giyasov. On March 10, Haney said, “I can’t say that it’s a done deal yet. We are working on it. I think that it’s very likely that it will happen." By March 26, the fight faced uncertainty due to interim champion Giyasov demanding a title shot that he had been waiting for nearly three years. By April 4, negotiations had broken down after the two boxers failed to reach an agreement on financial terms. Haney initially said the offer from Romero was "very fair" but suggested changes to minor details. He then stated he was completely dissatisfied with the terms. According to Romero, he offered a 50/50 split, considering it a fair offer since it was a unification bout. He stated he was heavily promoting the bout on his own and criticized Haney's promotional efforts, suggesting he lacked the ability to promote fights. He then accused Haney of being afraid to fight. Haney revealed the talks collapsed due to the deal structure being unfair, which was based on a revenue-first model. It proposed that the boxers would only be paid after $6 million in event expenses were covered, and then the remaining revenue would be split 50/50 between the two boxers. Haney believed his status in the sport entitled him to a higher share, also taking aim at the fact that Romero had never been paid a $2 million purse for a single fight. ==Boxing style==