Paro fight means trouble for Haney

Devin Haney should think twice about agreeing to promoter Eddie Hearn's plan to challenge IBF light welterweight champion Liam Paro for his belt on December 7 in Australia.

Wrong opponent, wrong timing

Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) is the wrong opponent for Haney (31-0, 15 KOs), who suffered a tough loss to Ryan Garcia on April 20. Haney needs to be warned that the money he gets for fighting Paro won't be worth it. Devin's value for future fights will plummet after Paro is done with him on December 7.

The money that 25-year-old Haney will get for his fight against Paro in Australia would be good due to the PPV in that country, but Devin could still regret his decision if he gets knocked out.

We know Haney wants to be paid well for his fights after getting rich from his fight against popular social media star Ryan last April, but if he gets beat up by the 28-year-old Paro, the money wouldn't be worth it.

Aside from Paro being too strong for Haney's first fight after returning, there is also the issue of his weight. Haney has to overhydrate for his fights at 140 pounds and weighs over 160 pounds on fight night.

Even if Hearn works his magic to get Haney to bypass the IBF's 10-pound rehydration rule, it will still be difficult for Devin to make 140 pounds and be strong on fight night against Paro.

The IBF’s uncompromising stance

The IBF is a sober sanctioning body and will not agree that the Haney-Paro fight constitutes a unification simply because Haney holds the WBC Champion-in-Recess title. That is not a title. It is a placeholder title that allows former champions to jump the line to fight the new champion for their old belts.

Haney cannot use this as a method to get around the IBF's 10-pound rehydration rule, meaning he will make weight for the second weigh-in on fight morning.

Haney will be so exhausted on fight day that Paro will batter him around the ring and repeatedly knock him to the ground like Ryan Garcia did. In this case, however, there will be no referee to save Haney like there was in the Ryan fight. We don't see the action being stopped and Paro being deducted a point for striking on the break.