EXCLUSIVE
Devin Haney has told talkSPORT.com that he's a far better fighter since emerging victorious over Vasyl Lomachenko.
Last year, the young American talent was truly tested for the first time in his career as he came up against a fellow elite technical boxer.
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After comfortably beating George Kambosos twice in 2022 to emerge as the undisputed lightweight world champion, Haney welcomed a clash with Lomachenko.
Despite being overlooked when he called out the Ukrainian a few years prior, the youngster had no issue giving him a shot in order to cement his own status as lightweight king.
The fight took place in May 2023 and was a thrilling back-and-forth affair between two technically superb fighters.
It was contentious in the eyes of some, but Haney was ultimately awarded a narrow unanimous decision victory and defended his crown.
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Following this victory, the American then moved up to super-lightweight to challenge respected veteran champion Regis Prograis for his WBC crown.
While many were expecting another close affair, Haney ended up dominating his opponent and believes this was in part due to the experience he gained by beating Lomachenko.
He expects to now take this into his fight against Ryan Garcia, live on talkSPORT on Saturday night, and use it to outclass his foe.
"I gained so much experience," Haney told talkSPORT.com of the Loma win.
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"I took the experience of Loma and I added it into my experience.
"And just even in the next fight [vs Prograis], you've seen how much better I was in the next fight.
"But that's what happens when you fight great fighters. You learn, you gain experience and you get better.
"So I'm happy that I was able to learn in that fight, get the victory and move forward."
Devin Haney shoves Ryan Garcia in heated first face-off before grudge fight
Haney is adamant that he will continue to fight the best and has also welcomed a future fight against IBF super-lightweight world champion Subriel Matias, who some call the 'boogeyman' of the division.
When asked about people doubting he'll actually fight Matias, Haney replied: "I mean they're gonna say something regardless.
"But if you know me, if you're a fan of boxing, you watch me, then you know that I'm a different breed of a fighter.
"These guys say that they will fight the best fighters, but they're not really like that, they're not really about that.
"If anybody is I am and I've shown that I've proven that.
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"You can think what you wanna think, but this is reality."
Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia will be live on talkSPORT from 4am on Sunday 21 April
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