By Monica Hughes

19 year old Devin Haney (18-0, 12KOs) is looking to kick off 2018 by getting right into the hunt for world championships.  Fighting a total of seven times in 2017, the self-promoted teen star wasn’t considered by any major media outlets for the accolade of “Prospect of the Year”. 

When asked if he felt overlooked by the media in 2017, Haney expressed some frustration.

“Definitely, I feel I should have got prospect of the year by a long shot.  I’m focused on something different.  Hopefully next year I get fighter of the year.  Haney told ATG Radio.

ESPN recognized fellow undefeated teenage boxing sensation Ryan Garcia (13-0, 12KOs) as their best prospect of 2017.  Haney, who knows Garcia very well from their time in the amateur system, shared a little history and his thoughts on a potential showdown.

“Me and Ryan have a lot of history in the amateurs.  We fought about six times.  We’ve been fighting and sparring with each other since we were little. In the beginning, Ryan was getting the best when I first started boxing .  When we were young, he had a lot more experience than me," Haney said.

“The last time that we fought (in the amateurs) I gave him a standing eight count.  The last few times I won.  The first few times, he won. The last time we sparred, it was pretty bad (for Garcia).

When asked what would happen if they fought each other as professionals, Haney hinted if it would end up worse for Garcia than when they last fought in the amateurs.

“Definitely [it would be worse], well you know it’s smaller gloves and no head gear,” Haney said.

Devin Haney makes his premium network television debut on February 2nd in Sloan, Iowa as part of Showtime’s “ShoBox” series.  Haney faces upset minded Harminito Dela Torre (19-1, 12 KOs) in one of the feature bouts.