By Craig Daly: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum says Devin Haney will not stay at lightweight for much longer because he’s having problems making weight for the division.
With Haney gone, Arum says Vasily Lomachenko and Shakur Stevenson will fight at 135. In a perfect world scenario for Arum, Lomachenko will bat Haney and then defend the four belts against Shakur in his first defense. That would be a huge fight and likely pay-per-view.
Arum says Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) would be interested in the challenge of fighting Shakur (19-0, 9 KOs) because he likes taking on talented fighters.
Lomachenko needs to win his fight against undisputed lightweight champion Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) next month on May 20th to make a match between him and Stevenson more interesting. If Lomachenko loses to Haney, a fight between Loma and Shakur won’t be as compelling.
With Haney rehydrating potentially to 160, it will be difficult for Lomachenko to beat him if he only puts on three pounds after weighing in at 135.
Haney would be too big for him, particularly if he initiates a lot of clinches and uses his size to rough him up as he did against Geeorge Kambosos Jr in their rematch last October.
Once Haney does move up to 140, 147, or 154, the lightweight titles will be fragmented, and Lomacheenko and Shakur can go after them.
Shakur is fighting Shuichiro Yoshino in a WBC lightweight title eliminator this Saturday night on ESPN at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. If Shakur wins, he’ll be locked in as the WBC mandatory to Haney’s belt with that organization.
“I don’t think Devin is going to look to stay around 135 because he’s so big, he has trouble making the weight,” said Bob Arum to Fight Hub TV. “So if Loma wins the fight [against Haney], he’s small at 135, so he’ll stay at 135.”
If Haney beats Lomachenko, he’ll stay at 135 to see if he can get a fight against the winner of the Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia match. Assuming those guys choose to fight a rematch, Haney might move up to 140 if the WBC orders him to defend against Shakur Stevenson. One gets the sense that Haney doesn’t fancy that fight.
“I know talking with Loma, he would love a fight with Shakur because Loma is that kind of fighter that looks for challenges,” Arum continued.
“With Loma, everything is challenged. I remember the only argument I had with Loma was when the opponent didn’t match up to his standards and he was refusing to do the fight because he said it was a waste of time. It was back when he was at 130.
“So you say, ‘Isn’t Shakur a difficult fight for Loma?’ That’s the point. The more difficult you make it, the more Loma likes it,” said Arum.
