By Adam Baskin: Bill Haney sounded like a man in the hot seat under bright lights being interrogated when asked the simple question today whether Devin Haney will return to the lightweight division after facing WBC 140-lb champion Regis Prograis in October to reclaim his 135-lb belt belonging to that sanctioning body.
Bill didn’t even want to go there because he knows there is an excellent chance that when the smoke clears, Shakur Stevenson will be the one that will be in possession of the WBC lightweight, and Haney is unequipped to win that fight or even be competitive.
It’s easy to predict that Haney will never attempt to reclaim his WBC lightweight title if Shakur ends up with that. Haney will come back down to lightweight if he loses to Prograis and/or he has a chance to fight Gervonta Davis or face George Kambosos Jr for a trilogy contest in Australia for easy money.
You can’t rule out Haney losing to the 35-year-old Prograis because that guy can still punch for an old guy, and Devin can’t earn his respect; he’s going to be in trouble.
If Haney picks up the WBC 140-lb belt, he’ll see it to transmute the strap into a massive payday against Teofimo Lopez. That’s the only reason Haney is fighting Prograis. It’s to capture the pawn to make a mountain of money against Teofimo. In other words, Haney isn’t returning to 135 unless it’s to fight Gervonta or the easy mark Kambosos.
Haney focused on Prograis
“You have a 24-year-old guy that’s doing it for y’all, going up to 140 pounds and taking on a puncher and a champion in your next fight. We’re doing it for the people,” said Bill Haney to 78SportsTV about Devin Haney challenging WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis in October.
The people want to see Haney fight Shakur, Subriel Matias, Teofimo Lopez and give the guy he robbed Vasily Lomchenko a rematch. There is no demand for Haney to fight Prograis, who looked totally shot in his last fight against Danielito Zorrilla last June.
“Being a champion and remaining the champion is that’s what Devin has been, and out of those guys, he’s the longest remaining champion. Since he became a champion, that’s all he’d ever been, and that’s all that we stay at.
The only reason Haney is the lightweight champion is that the bottom fringe-level fighter George Kambosos Jr picked up the belts from an ill & injured Teofimo Lopez.
Talk about your dumb luck. Haney should have lost those four belts in his last fight, but the judges arguably robbed Vasily Lomachenko, giving it to the popular A-side guy.
“We’re not going to overlook Mr. Regis Prograis because we know that he is going to come on that night, and he is going to be the best Regis Prograis,” said Bill. “Once we handle this business, then you know we’ll see what’s next.
“We’re getting ready for Regis. We’re not taking him lightly. We’re coming in, like I said to be a two-division world champion. No, it’s winner take all,” side Bill when asked if there’s a rematch clause for the Prograis vs. Haney fight.
“We’re open to making the fights happen. This is the only fight that’s on the table right now, and it’s the only fight that we’re looking at. This is our second go-round with doing business with DAZN, and we’ve never had any problems,” said Bill.
Devin needs the WBC belt
“So you know we’ll deal with the future as it comes, but right now it’s Mr. Regis Prograis,” said Bill when asked if Haney will return to 135 to try and recapture his WBC lightweight belt, which will be getting stripped from him when he faces Prograis in October.
“No matter what they say, Mr. Prograis cannot get a fight with nobody. Even after the last fight [Danielito Zorrilla], he’s high-risk, low reward.
“What more would you ask of Devin than to go up and give an opportunity to a puncher, a dangerous fighter, a world champion at 140 pounds? So once again, this fight is about legacy.
“It’s about Devin moving up to become a future two-time undisputed champion, and it’s one more step towards greatness. The [Prograis] fight is going to happen. It can’t not happen because Devin is a WBC world champion moving up to challenge the 140-pound WBC world champion.
“So Devin’s position takes precedent over any other position in the rankings. So it’s not a matter of, ‘Is it going to happen?’ It’s just when is it going to be announced, when is it happening than anything else,” said Bill about the Prograis vs. Haney fight.
