By Chris Williams: Shakur Stevenson responded to Devin Haney’s claim that he’s “clout-chasing” by calling him out at a party last weekend by remarking that he’s finally talking for himself and that it’s “time” for him to get active.
Stevenson pointed out to Haney that promoter Bob Arum gave him three options, and he was the #1 choice. Arum wants the Haney vs. Shakur fight because he feels it’s the most considerable money option out there for him.
Shakur (20-0, 10 KOs) is reduced to pressuring undisputed lightweight champion Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) to get him to fight.
Haney’s avoidance:
– Fleeing the ring after the Vasily Lomachenko fight
– Moving up to 140
– Avoiding mentioning his name
– Not speaking up
– Swerving risky fights
– Targeting lesser fighters
It seems clear to many fans that Haney’s fight against Lomachenko last May put a big dent in his self-confidence, resulting in him being paralyzed, not moving forward to face the killers at 140, while holding onto four lightweight titles as a security blanket.
What Haney should have done by now is decide whether to face Lomachenko in a rematch or face his WBC mandatory Shakur Stevenson. After all, boxing is a sport, and Haney seems to treat it more like a business.
Finally u speak for yourself 😩 Bob just told the world the 3 fights he bout to offer u lil bruh.. Let’s get active it’s bout that time 💯 https://t.co/B4mWAzX895
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) June 12, 2023
Promoter Eddie Hearn says Haney is interested in fighting WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis next, but that’s unlikely.
Haney isn’t going to take on Prograis in his first fight at 140 without getting his feet wet first against a beatable guy that can get him acclimatized to the weight class.
The longer Haney waits before pulling the trigger on the Shakur Stevenson fight, the more torture it will be for him because he has self-doubt about what happened in the Loma fight.
At least if Haney decided to fight Lomachenko again or face the arguably more difficult task of defending against Shakur, he’d take a load off his mind.
If Haney isn’t good enough to beat those guys, he will find out for sure instead of wondering for the rest of his life whether he has the talent to beat them.
Considering the firestorm of controversy over the results of the Haney-Lomachenko fight last May, you can’t call that a victory for Haney because the court of public opinion has already determined that Lomachnko won.
That means Haney is an illegitimate champion. The logical move would be for Haney to give Lomachenko a rematch because he won’t be skewered by the public if he goes in that direction. But ideally, if Haney wants to be seen as courageous, he’ll agree to fight Shakur next.