Devin Haney: I Was Nervous At First, But My Shoulder Feels Stronger Than Ever

When Devin Haney had to sit still for the first time in his boxing life, he grew anxious about whether his surgically repaired right shoulder would work the way it functioned before he hurt it in his last fight.

That nervousness subsided once the WBC world lightweight champion returned to the gym to train in March. Haney will fight for the first time Saturday night since he underwent surgery in mid-December to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

“I was nervous at first because I never had an injury, I never took time off from boxing,” Haney told BoxingScene.com. “So, when I was basically just on bed rest and I was going through it, it was like the worst. But now I look at the bright side, like everything happens for a reason. And it gave me time to rest, it gave me time to recover, it gave me time to get stronger. And here we are now – I feel stronger than ever.”

The 21-year-old Haney (24-0, 15 KOs) will test his shoulder when he defends his WBC 135-pound crown against Cuban contender Yuriorkis Gamboa (30-3, 18 KOs) in Hollywood, Florida. They’ll headline a card DAZN is set to stream from Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (8 p.m. ET; 5 p.m. PT).

Haney sustained his shoulder injury during his first title defense last November 9 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. He knew something was wrong in “the seventh or eighth round” against Alfredo Santiago, but he endured the pain and won easily.

Las Vegas’ Haney defeated the Dominican Republic’s Santiago (12-1, 4 KOs) by unanimous decision. Haney dropped Santiago in the fifth round and won every round on all three scorecards (120-107, 120-107, 120-107), but he still left the ring worried about his shoulder.

“I never had any problems with it leading up to the fight,” Haney said. “But in the fight, that’s when I felt it. I can’t really remember the exact time when it started feeling well, because I just took so much time off and let it just heal up. I took like maybe two extra months off, just like letting it heal after my doctor cleared me to train and work out. I made sure that the shoulder was completely healed, and it wouldn’t give me any more problems. Now I feel great. I feel strong. I forget that I even had the shoulder injury because I don’t feel any pain.” 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.