“Haney put on a s**t show…Did he train with Usain Bolt? Who the hell he train with?” That is what former world champion Timothy Bradley said after Devin Haney put on a lackluster performance against Jose Ramirez on the second day of this month. Though Devin Haney managed to win by unanimous decision, it wasn’t exactly an entertaining bout, with only 503 punches thrown combined—the fourth-fewest ever in a 12-round fight. Most called the 26-year-old out for being cautious and afraid of getting hit throughout the contest. And why wouldn’t he be? He was coming off a one-year hiatus post the Ryan Garcia debacle. But, while most, including Jim Lampley, Dan Rafael, and Bob Arum, found Haney’s performance terrible, Caleb Plant thinks the approach was intentionally planned and well-executed.
In an interview with Fight Hub TV four days ago, reporter Marcos Villegas talked to Caleb Plant amid his upcoming showdown against Jose Armando Resendiz on May 31. During the conversation, Villegas asked the 23-2 boxer about the Times Square card. Talking about the Haney-Ramirez bout, the 32-year-old admitted the lack of action, but understandingly commented that people were interpreting it all wrong. “When you fight a whole fight like that, if that was nervous energy, you would have burned yourself out…He clearly trained to fight like that. So that was purposeful. You know, he did that on purpose,” the Nashville native explained.
“Cause fighting like that for 12 rounds is not easy. The amount of discipline it takes, the amount of mental focus it takes, the amount of leg conditioning it takes—it’s not easy,“ Caleb Plant continued. From his perspective, the blame wrongly fell on Haney’s shoulders alone for not making the fight exciting. Because in boxing, it takes two to make a good fight. The former IBF super middleweight champion backed Devin Haney’s performance by saying, “Now, was it the most appetizing fight? No. Was it the most back-and-forth fight? No. Was it the most, you know, exciting and ‘Man, I want to run that one back’? No. But it’s not Devin’s job to make the fight more competitive.”
Resting half the responsibility on Jose Ramirez’s shoulders, Caleb Plant wrapped the discussion up with, “It’s Jose’s job to make the fight more exciting. And I feel like people unfairly put that on boxers, when they don’t ever do that in any other sports.” To him, there was nothing wrong with Devin Haney wanting to take it slow and settle in. He trained for it. Now, whether Plant is true about that or not, only Haney can confirm. But this is surely not the first time Plant has backed Haney.
Caleb Plant and Devin Haney go back a while
Plant and Haney’s friendship goes all the way back to 2021. A day before Sweethands’ November 2021 bout against Canelo Alvarez, Haney had dropped in some words of encouragement. “I love Caleb Plant—we’ve been friends for a while now. I definitely think that he has all the tools and, you know, the skills to win the fight. He has to just go in there and apply them,” he told DAZN Boxing. Returning the favor, Plant showed the same support, not once, but twice.
One was before Haney’s May 2023 bout against Vasiliy Lomachenko. And another was after the controversial Ryan Garcia bout in April last year. After the Garcia bout, Plant spoke to Fight Hub TV. “It’s one thing to be undefeated when you’re not fighting nobody. But, you know, when you continuously fight the best, the best, the best, the best—you know, eventually, more than likely, you’re going to come up short. And just because you do, that doesn’t mean that you’re not a great fighter,” he said, wholeheartedly backing the former undisputed lightweight champion.
Continuing to express his support, Caleb Plant noted, “He’s [Devin is] a great fighter. He’ll bounce back. You know, he’s got a good team around him—Vanessa, James, the whole rest of his team…He’s got a dad who cares and loves for him…He’ll be back. He just has to take some time, rest up a little bit, get back in the gym.” And that is what Haney did. Took some time off. So, the Ramirez-backup makes it the third time Plant is supporting Haney, continuing the streak.
And, add to it, they both have great animosity for the same guy—Ryan Garcia—should make the bond even stronger. Ever since the latter made derogatory comments about Plant’s wife Jordan, Garcia knew he’d incur Plant’s wrath. Giving Garcia a taste of his own medicine, Caleb Plant even threw a drink at the former after the Gervonta Davis vs. Frank Martin fight in July last year.
Now, Plant is set to fight Jose Armando Resendiz at the end of this month at the Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas, and Haney would surely be in his friend’s corner, cheering for him ringside.
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