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Devin Haney Ducks Shakur Stevenson!!
Devin Haney, the 24-year-old boxer, is considering whether to give up his 135lbs undisputed title and move up to a higher weight division. He became a four-belt champion after defeating George Kambosos Jr last year and successfully defended those titles in a rematch. Following another successful defense against Vasily Lomachenko this year, the WBC ordered Haney to choose between facing mandatory challenger Shakur Stevenson or moving up to fight the super-lightweight champion, Regis Prograis. Haney has been in talks with Prograis's team to arrange a fight, but if he moves up in weight, he would typically have to vacate his lightweight belts. However, he has reportedly requested to retain at least the WBC belt. Haney said:
“I’m a free agent, and everything is aligned for me to become a two-division champion against arguably the #1 guy [Regis Prograis] at 140 for me to showcase my skills at a much stronger weight. “Weight won’t be my focus in camp. I’ll be able to be comfortable and go into the fight 100%. God willing, that I’ll be able to hold onto my 135 belts while I’m at 140 and come back and defend my undisputed belts. “I’m just that kind of guy, that kind of fighter. I want to fight the best. I fought a future Hall of Famer [Vasily Lomachenko] in my last fight, and now I’m going up to fight another champion. Champion vs. champion. It’ll be a good fight for boxing, and I’ll showcase my arsenal.”This decision doesn't sit well with Stevenson, who deserves a title shot regardless of who holds the belt. He expressed his frustration on Twitter, feeling that it wouldn't make sense for Haney to move up and still keep the belts.
“I respect the WBC and Mauricio but come on now y’all can’t allow him not to fight me move up in weight and hold the belts.. That don’t even make sense!”The WBC has faced criticism for allowing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury to take a break from boxing and face an MMA star, Francis Ngannou, which some fans feel is holding up the division. If Haney is allowed to keep his belt while pursuing titles in a higher weight class, it might face similar criticism. The outcome of Haney's petition to retain the belt is uncertain, as the board of governors will need to vote on it. We'll have to wait and see how the situation unfolds in the coming days.
