By Adam Baskin: Shakur Stevenson is up in arms over the reports of Devin Haney asking the WBC to allow him to keep his lightweight title while he takes a quick trip up light welterweight champion Regis Prograis.
The WBC will put it to a vote with their board of governors to decide whether they’ll let Haney hold onto his lightweight title.
Considering Haney’s popularity, the WBC will grant his petition to allow him to keep his 135-lb title. In the meantime, Shakur must accept the probability that the WBC will rule in Haney’s favor, and he could be waiting until 2025 before he finally gets a shot at the 135-lb belt.
At that point, Shakur could find himself waiting for a long time for his title shot at the WBC belt. Knowing Haney, he’ll ask the WBC to let him bypass Shakur a second & third time when he returns to the 135-lb division so that he can face Gervonta Davis and/or Vasily Lomachenko.
It goes without saying that if fights against Tank & Lomachenko are available to Haney to make good money, he’ll petition the WBC repeatedly to allow him to swerve Shakur so that he can fight those guys.
If the WBC denies Haney’s request, it’s a virtual guarantee that he’ll vacate his 135 lb title because he doesn’t seem interested in fighting Shakur, getting beaten, and having his career ruined.
I respect the WBC and Mauricio but cmon now y’all can’t allow him not to fight me move up in weight and hold the belts.. That don’t even make sense! https://t.co/vg1dNE0d5M
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) July 28, 2023
Haney is a good basic fighter, but not in the Shakur or Gerrvonta Davis league. Hence, he wants the World Boxing Council to allow him to avoid Shakur.
Boxing Scene is reporting the news of Haney petitioning the WBC to let him keep his 135-lb title while he roams up to 140 to take on Prograis, who some would argue is the weakest link among the champions at light welterweight, even weaker than Rolluy Romero.
In a nutshell, Haney wants the WBC to allow him to circumvent his requirement of having to defend mandatory challenger Shakur Stevenson so he can test the shark-infested waters at 140 to see if it’s safe before deciding if he should vacate his WBC 135-lb belt.
From Haney’s standpoint, it’s a smart move because he has no power, even for the lightweight division’s standards, and his punch resistance & defense is poor. We saw that in Haney’s last fight, with him getting staggered by Vasily Lomachenko last May.
Shakur should forget about the WBC permanently if they accept Haney’s petition because it’s not worth it to try and fight for their belt.