Devin Haney is digging into his past, using his victories over George Kambosos to hype his December 19 unification clash with Liam Paro at Chase Center. Dominating Kambosos secured undisputed status at lightweight, but rehashing those nights won’t fire up crowds to see him chase another belt.

“My resume speaks for itself,” Haney stated. “I’ve never been afraid to go into a champion’s backyard and put my record on the line. I went to Australia, took George Kambosos’ belts, and became undisputed lightweight champion of the world. Now I’m bringing another Australian world champion, Liam Paro, into my backyard. This time, I plan to take his belt and become a unified welterweight world champion right here at home.”

Rehashing those wins now doesn’t elevate Liam Paro; it just reminds everyone how limited Kambosos actually was. The problem is that nationality is not a fighting style. Paro earned his IBF junior welterweight belt by traveling to Puerto Rico and physically outworking Subriel Matias, a dangerous puncher who was supposed to run through him.

If Haney truly understood how to build a fight, he would talk about Paro traveling to Puerto Rico to derail Subriel Matias or how Paro will actually bring a fight to him. Instead, he defaults to his old comfort blanket because self-promotion has never been his strong suit.

Paro is a tougher, more durable, and fundamentally different stylistic threat than Kambosos ever was. By presenting Paro through the Kambosos lens, Haney actually diminishes his own opponent while making the matchup sound like an easy rerun.

Devin needs to stop pretending the fans only care about belts. Haney should focus on the homecoming angle by promising a style change from his normal pure boxing approach. If he speaks openly about having to stand his ground against Paro’s physical, brawling style, he gives people a reason to watch for drama rather than just waiting on the judges’ scorecards.