Unbeaten Haney defends title

MIAMI: Undefeated Devin Haney (pic) wants to deliver a “billion dollar” performance when he returns to the ring after a one-year injury absence to defend his World Boxing Council lightweight title against Cuba’s Yuriorkis Gamboa on Saturday.

The 21-year-old American has not fought since last November after being injured in a unanimous decision over Dominican challenger Alfredo Santiago.

“I took the time I needed, listened to the doctors, and let my body rest,” Haney said. “I’m now 100pc and better than ever.”

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Haney, 24-0 with 15 knockouts, faces a 38-year-old former world featherwight champion in Gamboa, 30-3 with 18 knockouts.

“Gamboa has done a lot in the sport, and the fact that he gave a lot of fighters tough fights says a lot about him,” said Haney, who has lofty dreams of becoming boxing’s first billionaire. 

“I have a goal to be the first billionaire boxer, and to do that I have to put forth billion-dollar performances,” he said.

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Gamboa, the 2004 Olympic flyweight champion who last owned a major world crown in 2011, comes into the fight off a 12th-round stoppage loss to American Gervonta Davis last December.

“Title defenses show a lot about what kind of fighter you really are,” Haney said. “When you become a champion you become a target.”

All other major world titles in the 135-pound division belong to unbeaten Teofimo Lopez, 16-0 with 12 knockouts after defeating Ukraine’s Vasyl Lomachenko three weeks ago. Haney would love to fight the 23-year-old American in a unification showdown.

“A lot of people are not mentioning my name amongst the best in the world, and I am looking to change that,” Haney said.