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After a lot of back-and-forth, Devin Haney has finally decided his next career move. On Friday, it was reported that the current undisputed world lightweight champion has declined to defend his title against his mandatory challenger, Shakur Stevenson, in favor of a move up to junior welterweight to battle WBC champ Regis Progais in what could be one of the biggest fights of the year.
ESPN's boxing insider Mike Coppinger was one of the first to break the news on Twitter:
“Devin Haney and Regis Prograis have agreed to a deal for an Oct. 28 fight in Las Vegas for Prograis’ WBC junior welterweight title, sources tell ESPN. Haney retained his undisputed lightweight championship in May with a decision victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko,” Coppinger wrote in his tweet.
This decision from Haney does not come as a complete shock. He will now move up in order to challenge for a title in a second weight class. A bout against Stevenson would have been great as well, but a Haney-Progais fight appears to be the bigger draw.
As Coppinger said, Haney is coming off a massive win over Vasiliy Lomachenko in May to defend his lightweight crown. Progais, on the other hand, is also coming off a win, but it was anything but a flawless victory. He barely escaped against Danielito Zorrila in June with a split-decision win, and he will now be battling an entirely different monster in Devin Haney.
For his part, you can be sure that Shakur Stevenson isn't going to be happy with this development especially after all the build-up to a potential fight against Haney. A bout against Lomachenko could be up next for Stevenson, and needless to say, that's going to be quite a war as well.
