Devin Haney: They said I couldn't take a punch. But I got up and I'm still here'

"Rain falls in thin, needling lines over Hell's Kitchen as Devin Haney walks into the Victory Boxing Gym. Somewhere along Ninth Avenue an ambulance threads through the congestion, its siren drawn out into a long, mournful ribbon that slips past the gym's walls. He nods to a few familiar faces, peels off a Supreme Vanson leather jacket and begins to unwrap himself from the city."

"Bill has been here from the start, a self-styled Richard Williams of the hurt business: promoter, strategist, architect and hype man rolled into one. He has been shaping this trajectory since Devin was a boy, arranging professional fights in Tijuana when American commissions said he was too young. Lately, it's a relentless leverage of social media to breathlessly tout his son's achievements."

"The first time I saw Haney up close he was 17 years old, newly licensed by special exemption from the Nevada commission after building a 40 start in Mexico and fighting in a four-rounder on the Manny PacquiaoTimothy Bradley III undercard before a sea of empty seats in Las Vegas. His hand speed was already blinding, the eyes calm and alert, the movements unusually assured for a teenager still growing into his"

Rain falls over Hell's Kitchen as Devin Haney arrives at the Victory Boxing Gym, peeling off a Supreme Vanson leather jacket and wrapping gauze around his knuckles. An ambulance siren threads along Ninth Avenue while his father, Bill, commands the room with proud declarations of Devin as the youngest undisputed champion, having won on three continents at age twenty-six. Bill operates as promoter, strategist, architect and hype man, arranging early pro fights in Tijuana when commissions deemed Devin too young and now amplifying achievements through relentless social media. Devin earned a special Nevada exemption at seventeen after a forty-start career in Mexico and a four-round undercard fight in Las Vegas. His hand speed, calm eyes and assured movements marked him as a rare young talent still growing into his frame.

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