Devin Haney vs Zaur Abdullaev Preview Sept. 13th
A pair of unbeaten lightweight prospects will be battling it out in a WBC Interim Title at Madison Square Garden’s theater on Friday, September 13th when Devin Haney takes on Zaur Abdullaev. The 12-round bout can be seen in North America on DAZN while fans in the UK can catch the fight on Sky Sports Action. Haney last fought in May when he stopped Antonio Moran in the seventh round to defend his WBC International, and WBO Inter-Continental Lightweight Titles and win the vacant WBA International Crown. Abdullaev last saw action in February when he stopped Humberto Martinez in the 10th and final round.
**Watch live on DAZN this Friday. Your first month is free.
Haney vs Abdullaev Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Zaur Abdullaev +1216
- Devin Haney -2366
My Pick
The 20-year-old Haney is regarded as a can’t miss prospect by most boxing fans and experts fan after he enjoyed an excellent 138-bout amateur career after getting into the sport as a seven-year-old. He won a silver medal at the USA Junior National Championships in 2013 and reached the quarterfinals of the World Juniors the same year. He then won a gold medal at the 2014 US Junior National Championships and the 2015 USA Youth National Championships.
He was the youngest boxer ever to win the Youth World Championships and captured a total of seven national titles along the way. Haney, who was born in San Francisco and fights out of Las Vegas, then turned pro in December of 2015 as a 16-year-old and has a perfect record of 22-0 with 14 Kos and has boxed 110 rounds. He’s also won several regional and minor titles along the way including the WBC Youth World, USBA, IBF North American, WBC International, and WBO Inter-Continental Lightweight Belts.
Haney stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 71-inch reach and possesses tremendous skills and speed. He’s not the most powerful puncher out there but has a current knockout ratio of 64 per cent. His first four pro fights took place in Mexico since he was too young to box professionally at the time. He’s beaten everybody in front of him so far with his toughest opponents being Moran, Mason Menard, Juan Carlos Burgos and Xolisani Ndongeni.
Abdullaev hails from Russia and the 25-year-old also has a perfect mark at 11-0 with 7 Kos. He’s 5-feet-9-inches tall with an unlisted reach so he’s an inch tall than Haney. And like Haney, Abdullaev also has a 64 per cent knockout ratio. The similarities with Haney don’t end there though as he also enjoyed a fine amateur career as he won a silver medal at the Russian National Junior Championships in 2010 and the European Youth Championships in 2011 and made it to the quarterfinals of the Russian National Youth Championships in 2012.
He turned pro in 2017 and has fought 69 rounds since. His biggest wins have been against Martinez, Roberto Gonzales, Ardie Boyose, Deiner Berrio and Hank Lundy. Abdullaev has also won some minor titles as a pro including the WBC Silver and WBO Youth Championships. This will be Abdullaev’s first fight outside of his Russian homeland.
Prediction…
This is a good test for both boxers as they have followed similar paths from the amateurs to being legitimate contenders for a world title. The winner could get a shot at lightweight kingpin Vasyl Lomachenko in the near future. Haney doesn’t turn 21 years old until November and he has the edge in speed and pure boxing skills. Abdullaev is powerful though and likes to break his opponents down. Based on pure skill though, I favour Haney to win this fight.
Haney has better pure skills.
Play: Haney -2366 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Devin Haney betting • Zaur Abdullaev betting