Devin Haney Considers Andre Ward As New Trainer

Devin Haney says he’s interested in having Andre Ward train him. Haney (32-0, 15 KOs) is preparing for a title shot against WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. on November 22nd at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Andre Ward’s Winning Blueprint

Ward’s fighting style during his career was similar to how Devin has fought. There’s not much to separate the two. Adding Ward would allow Haney to implement more tricks to neutralize the power of the bigger punchers at welterweight, like Norman Jr., for starters.

Ward’s Former Fighting Style

• Potshots: Single shots followed by a dive forward to hold
• Frequent clinching
• Mauling: Wrestling in the clinch to tire out his opponents
• Jabbing
• Movement

Haney, 26, was trained by Shane Mosley, his dad, Bill Haney, and Nate Jones for his last fight against Jose Ramirez on May 2nd. Devin won a wide 12-round unanimous decision, but was criticized by fans for his safety-first fighting style.

Shortly after that performance, Turki Alalshikh implemented his Tom and Jerry mandate. Some fans believe it was a result of Haney’s Jerry-like effort, involving constant movement and frequent holding.

The Haney-Ward Ring Connection

Again, the retired former two-division world champion Ward’s fighting style during his career had similar elements to the one Haney uses.

These were elements that Andre utilized to defeat the big punchers, Sergey Kovalev, Mikkel Kessler, and Carl Froch. Those were fighters with superior power and offensive skills to Ward. But with his negative fighting style, he overcame their advantages to defeat them. It was never pretty to watch, but Ward got the victories.

It’s Haney’s first fight at full weight for the 147-lb division, and he’s going against what many fans believe is the hardest puncher in the division, Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs).

The way Devin performed in his last fight against Jose Ramirez earlier this year on May 2nd has many people believing he’s shell-shocked from his 12-round majority decision loss to Ryan Garcia a year ago on April 20, 2024. Devin appeared timid, using a lot of movement against the veteran Ramirez in their fight at Times Square in New York City

“I don’t know if he [Andre Ward] is going to train me or not. We’ve been talking about it. I’ve never trained with him before,” said Devin Haney to the Ring Champs channel about his interest in training with Andre Ward. “He’s not a trainer. He’s a [former] fighter. We’ve never seen him work with nobody. We’ve seen him give pointers to people. Yeah, he’s retired [for eight years since 2017].

Haney’s Past Coaches

Bill Haney
Shane Mosley
Nate Jones
Mickey Bey
Yoel Judah
Floyd Mayweather Sr.
Roy Jones Jr.
Jeff Mayweather
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Vergil Hunter

“We’re talking. I’m not going to say if Andre is going to train me or not. We’ve been talking about it,” said Haney about being trained by Ward. “I don’t know. We got to get in the gym to see if it works. I worked with Vergil [Hunter] when I was a kid.”

Hunter was Ward’s trainer during his career and helped guide him to two division world championships as a pro. Ward’s fighting style would gel with Devin’s, as it’s one designed to defeat stronger fighters.

With Haney’s 46.88% KO rate, he’s not shown himself to be a big enough puncher to trade with the powerful welterweights in the division. Adding Ward to his training team will assist Haney in avoiding getting knocked around the ring like fans saw in his three-knockdown defeat against Ryan Garcia in 2024.

“It would be crazy. It came through someone we knew mutually, Kevin Newman,” said Haney. “So, they talked about it [being trained by Andre Ward]. And I was like, ‘Are you sure he would want to work with me? And he was like, ‘Yeah, he said he would be open to it,’ if I was interested. I was like, ‘Man, are you sure?’ Because I never seen him [Ward] train nobody. That would be crazy, eh?” said Haney, responding being told Akin Reyes of Ring Champs that fans would be excited to see him being trained by Ward.

The 41-year-old former two-division world champion Ward (32-0, 16 KOs) helped former IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant prepare for his undisputed 168-lb championship clash against then WBA, WBC, and WBO champ Canelo Alvarez on November 6, 2021. Plant was knocked out in the 11th round by Alvarez.