When ‘Money’ Mayweather retired undefeated and avoided serious health issues throughout his career, largely thanks to his signature defensive style, there was a lingering question in the air. But should young fighters try to follow the same blueprint? He had the perfect record after all. Cut to 2025, and it seems former undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney has taken that approach.

Haney’s defensive style has long drawn comparisons to Mayweather, but in his recent bout against Jose Ramirez, it may have worked against him. Despite securing a win, Haney’s performance was met with criticism from fans and analysts alike. The fight saw only 503 combined punches thrown, the fourth-fewest in a 12-round bout, disappointing many with the lack of action. Adding fuel to the conversation, a clip recently surfaced online showing Mayweather giving Haney fight advice. 

In a clip shared by The Ring on Instagram, the 48-year-old can be seen giving Haney insights into his boxing style. “When he tries to trap me, I lock him up. You go back and do the same thing over and over again…,” Mayweather said about his approach to a match. “The key is to take less punishment… The less punishment you take, the longer you can last in the sport.”

It’s worth noting that Mayweather often faced similar criticism, especially after the Manny Pacquiao fight on May 2, 2015, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The fight saw a combined total of 864 punches thrown over 12 rounds, which quickly faced backlash. Billed as the ‘Fight of the Century,’ it was an utter snoozefest, but it managed to rake in record-breaking numbers. 

Regardless, the clip in question dates back to the early days of Haney’s career. But things have changed since then—dramatically. Haney and Mayweather are far from allies. The two have exchanged sharp words publicly, with tensions escalating over time. Devin’s father, Bill Haney, even went so far as to claim that his son had retired Mayweather during a sparring session. 

With such a rich history between the retired boxer and Haney, the blast from the past quickly attracted netizens, and let’s just say, they didn’t show any mercy. 

The real reason behind Devin Haney vs. Teofimo Lopez cancellation revealed

‘The Dream’ Haney has a lot of fans, but he has even more critics, and the Mayweather clip was pure gold for them. One user outright blamed Floyd Mayweather for Haney and other boxers running from fights. “Floyd ruined boxing,” the user commented. Mayweather prioritized money over fights, which is evident from his lifestyle and boxing career. While beneficial for him, it has made him one of the more hated personalities in the sport. And it’s paying off for the fighter. He’s used his earnings to create a $400 million real-estate empire. 

The next user believed that they had uncovered why Teofimo Lopez backed out of a fight against Devin Haney recently. “I see why Teo didn’t fight Haney more now. @ringmagazine keep promoting him and fighting in Saudi Arabia, the fight would have favored Haney .. hell nah and Teo is a way better fighter and they would have cheated him,” the user commented. It was previously reported that the two camps were close to finalizing a deal. 

Meanwhile, this user felt the advice Mayweather gave Haney has made him a boring boxer. “Yup the blue print to be boring 😴,” the user wrote. However, prior to the Ramirez fight, Haney wasn’t as defensive, and many praised him for his fights. 

Another user used a mix of emojis and words to describe Mayweather’s advice to Haney. “Floyd: Run 🏃‍♂️ Run 🏃‍♂️ Run 🏃‍♂️,” the user wrote, suggesting that all ‘Money’ taught Haney was to run away. The only difference is, people came to watch someone beat Mayweather, whereas in Haney’s case, he doesn’t have that kind of pull unless he is matched against someone like Ryan Garcia. 

Someone else explained how good Haney is as a pupil. “Dev [under]stood the assignment & it showed his last fight out lol,” the user commented. Now, it would be interesting to see who Haney ends up fighting next. 

That said, it appears the clip of Floyd Mayweather and Devin Haney doesn’t seem to have landed well with the boxing public. However, do you think people are judging Mayweather and Haney too harshly? Do they really deserve the criticism?