Devin Haney put on one of the great boxing clinics as he swept aside Regis Prograis in his first fight at 140lbs, winning the WBC title in the process. 

It was a mastery of both defence and attack, with Prograis landing the fewest punches in a 12-round fight for 38 years, and leaving San Francisco Bay with his fair share of bruises. 

Prograis - not aided by his sluggish footwork - was unable to find any sort of rhythm. Haney wasn’t ultra busy, but what he did throw, he threw with intensity. 

A lot was made of whether Haney would have more power behind his fists up at 140. In the third, he showed his pop by flooring Prograis with a stinging right hand. 

The New Orleans native didn’t look troubled, not at least in terms of feeling Haney’s force. 

He did, however, continue to be outmanoeuvred and out-thought. A cut opened on Prograis’ nose in the sixth, to which Haney added insult by peppering him with a flurry of stifling hooks. 

The pre-fight excitement was almost sucked out of the bout as the rounds went on. Prograis just couldn’t get a hold in the fight, and Haney breezed towards a fairly tame end. 

A 120-107 sweep on the cards genuinely does tell the story. A true one-sided masterclass from one of the sport’s elite fighters. 

Haney is writing a staggering story, and he and team will entertain only the biggest fights in 2024. Gervonta Davis, Ryan Garcia, and Teofimo Lopez are just three of the names that mix spectacle with legacy. 

As for Prograis, I’m sure he’ll be back. Taking licks after talking such smack will hurt, but he showed just how a fighter can lose their crown and still keep their dignity. 

There was drama over in Florida as Robiesy Ramirez lost his WBO featherweight title after a taxing 12 rounds with Rafael Espinoza. 

Ramirez’s window of opportunity came in the fifth, when he dropped Espinoza with a savage right hook. Luckily for the challenger, it came in the closing of the round. 

Whilst Espinoza recovered in the sixth, Ramirez went hell for leather, running down his gas tank and handing the Mexican the initiative. A relentless second half of the fight followed. 

The cards read 113-113, 114-112, and 115-111, suggesting that just a slight increase in punch output could well have kept Ramirez his strap. He will now surely chase the rematch. 

Perhaps less glamorous, but definitely no less noisy, Bournemouth once again turned out for Chris Billam-Smith, who overcame some hairy moments to defend his WBO cruiserweight title. 

Billam-Smith tried to impose himself early, pressing Mateusz Masternak who was forced to sit safely behind his jab. When Billam-Smith did unload, Masternak seemed to be able to time him perfectly. 

The champion was walking forward in straight lines, making Masternak’s job almost elementary. Even in the clinch, it was he who would come out on top, finding a home for his many stiff right hands. 

Both men had bled, Billam-Smith from the nose and Masternak from the left eye. The Brit began to work the body of the challenger in the seventh, and it sure paid off. 

Masternak was unable to rise for round eight, and that was that. 

Billam-Smith will now look ahead to a domestically hot 2024, as rematches with Richard Riakporhe and Lawrence Okolie loom large. 

Oscar Bevis