By Adam Baskin: Four days after being called out by Shakur Stevenson following his victory over Shuichiro Yoshino in a WBC lightweight title eliminator last Saturday night, undisputed 135-lb champion Devin Haney finally spoke up, saying that he’s “happy“ that the Newark, New Jersey native called him out.
However, with the antsy way Devin’s dad Bill acted on Monday when asked whether they’ll make the fight with Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs), it’s possible that Haney is anything but pleased.
Bill looked like someone being interrogated under a bright light when interviewed by Thaboxingvoice. One could tell he did not like the questions about whether his son Devin will face his new WBC mandatory Shakur. Bill seemed jittery like he was ready to make a run for cover while repeatedly asked whether Haney would fight the talented Stevenson.
You could almost see the sweat coming off Bill when asked about that fight, and it looked clear that Shakur’s name was the equivalent of the third rail for him, an unmentionable.
Haney still has to get past Vasily Lomachenko on May 20th, which won’t be an easy task for him despite having a considerable size and youth advantage over the 35-year-old former three-division world champion. Lomachenko is fighting two divisions out of his best weight class of featherweight, and he’s going up against a guy that is essentially a junior middleweight in Haney.
It’s a tall order for Lomachenko to fight a guy five divisions larger than him, but he’ll give it his best try on May 20th.
“I’m happy that he [Shakur Stevenson] called me out,” Devin Haney told the DAZN Boxing Show about being called out by Shakur Stevenson following his.
“He’s supposed to call me out,” Haney said about Stevenson asking for an opportunity to fight him for his four belts. “I say I’m the man in the weight class; I say I am the man with all the belts, which is true; then what’s wrong with another competitor calling you out?”
“The last time we sparred, I was 16, and he was 17. The sparring was back and forth. There were times when he got the better of me; there were times when I got the better of him.
“What you did when we were kids, it’s got nothing to do with what we do now,” said Haney.
