Subscribe
Follow Us
Unified lightweight champion Devin Haney is looking to become a two-division king before potentially returning to 135 pounds.
After much anticipation as to whether he would remain at lightweight or move up to super lightweight, it was reported late last week that Haney had agreed to fight Regis Prograis for his WBC super lightweight crown.
The planned 140-pound matchup will take place in Las Vegas with an Oct. 28 date planned as of now.
And as far as Haney is concerned, he's facing arguably the best super lightweight in the world in a fight that will only be good for boxing.
“Right now I’m a free agent, everything aligned for me to become a two-division world champion against arguably the number one guy at 140,” Haney told Fight Hype (via Boxing Social). “Me to showcase my skills when I’m much stronger, weight won’t be my focus around camp, I’ll be able to be comfortable and go in 100 percent.
“I’m that kind of fighter – I want to fight the best fighters, I want to prove myself time and time again. I fought a future Hall of Famer in my last fight, and now I’m going up to fight another champion. It’ll be a good fight for boxing.”
With Haney more or less expected to move up prior to the news, the expectation was that fighters like Shakur Stevenson would fight for the vacant lightweight titles.
However, Haney has requested the sanctioning bodies to allow him to keep the belts as he now plans on potentially defending them in the future.
Article Continues Below
“Inshallah it is,” Haney added. “God willing I can hold onto my 135 belts, go fight at 140 and come back and defend my undisputed titles.”
Speaking of Stevenson, he notably rejected a 75/25 offer to fight Haney earlier this month which would see him earn just 25 percent of their potential fight purse.
Nah I’m not gone take 25% but u knew that already Lil bruh be realistic 😴
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) July 1, 2023
Haney believes the Newark native should have taken that offer and that he has earned the right to hold on to his lightweight titles while he attempts to become a two-weight champion.
“If he really believed himself and trusted in his skills, he would’ve took it [the 25% offer],” Haney said. “… That’s what you’ve got to do to become the man in the division, you’ve got to sacrifice.
“I’ve done it. Many greats have done it. I put it all on the line to be in this position, I don’t wanna just give my belts. I want to be in the position to still defend them.”
