Despite a real boxing pedigree and training under legends like Floyd Mayweather Sr., Jeff Mayweather, Roy Jones Jr., and now most recently Shane Mosley, Devin Haney kept it cautious. Since debuting at 17, he’s racked up wins against names like Jorge Linares, Vasyl Lomachenko, George Kambosos Jr., and Regis Prograis. But everything tilted after Ryan Garcia dropped him three times in April 2024. Yes, it didn’t count on the record, but the sting? Still hit like a knockout.

Fast forward to May 2nd at Times Square, Devin Haney reportedly bagged a $3 million payday at the Fatal Fury event to swim to a comfortable win against former world champion Jose Ramirez. However, the win left fans underwhelmed. After the fight, many criticized him for the track meet he put on display against Ramirez, trying to avoid exchanges. Though his father, Bill Haney, felt his son had done enough, the boxing world wasn’t convinced, and neither is Joe Rogan, who’s now chiming in with a brutally honest take on the fight.

Is Devin Haney fighting to win or afraid to lose?

A few days ago, on episode #2320 of The Joe Rogan Experience, the mic was hot and the takes even hotter. Sitting down with comedian Tom Segura, Joe Rogan dove into the current state of boxing, and the former undisputed lightweight champion was in the crosshairs. While Ryan Garcia’s name popped up, it was Haney’s latest bout that got the full Rogan treatment. “Devin didn’t lose. He won a decision, but he lost public credibility,” the UFC commentator stated. Why? “Because it was a very boring fight.”

Haney’s performance against Jose Ramirez may have been a win on paper, but the fans weren’t sold. But Joe Rogan still gave Haney his due, calling him an “incredibly skillful boxer, a world champion boxer, like very good boxer.” But noted that the performance didn’t match the hype that surrounds his undefeated streak. “Even the commentary like Antonio Tarver was like, ‘I don’t like the way he’s moving. His footwork seems erratic. Like everything is like he needs to settle down’,” the 57-year-old noted.

Despite being a slick, technical boxer, the 32-0 boxer didn’t light up the viewers. “It was the fans (that) lost and this was this big event in Times Square,” he said. And with big-time Saudi backing from HE Turki Alalshikh, funding dream cards, the stakes were massive. But the action didn’t match the money spent. Echoing Oscar De La Hoya, Joe Rogan said, “Like you need a guy who’s willing to risk it all, to really fu–ing go for it. And these guys aren’t willing to do that.” But Rogan didn’t stop there.

He moreover suggested Devin Haney hasn’t quite been the same since that sting of a loss to Ryan Garcia. “I think the Devin Haney thing, it’s one of those things where you see a guy who is an unbelievably skilled fighter but loses one fight and they’re just not the same again,” the stand-up comedian posited. Whether fans believe The Dream has lost his fire or is just playing it smart, one thing’s for sure: the criticisms hit home. And Bill Haney? He’s promised a major change next time out.

New fight, new Devin Haney? Or same old playbook?

A few days ago, Bill Haney sat down with Ariel Helwani on his podcast and got reflective. “God gave me the opportunity to be a father. That’s a blessing,” he said. “He gave Devin [Haney] a gift in boxing. And through that we’ve made history. And they wanna make it a mystery.” And when asked about Devin Haney’s performance against Jose Ramirez, Haney Sr. didn’t blink. “I loved it,” he said confidently. “Because we shut down the critics.”

Still, with the heat rising over Devin Haney’s elusive, defense-first style, Bill Haney promised a shift. “You got to see at 26, another dimension in Devin’s game,” he noted, adding that future opponents will be “even more intimidated.” And then came the haymaker: “You’ll call him boring, but you don’t call him easy. You say a lot of shit about him but you don’t call him a loser.”

With that said, do you think Devin Haney will come back with fire when he faces Ryan Garcia again, “Mid-October in Riyadh”? Or will it be déjà vu all over again?