Shakur Stevenson Reacts to Bill Haney Dismissing him As Option for Devin

Image: Shakur Stevenson Reacts to Bill Haney Dismissing him As Option for Devin
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 21: Shakur Stevenson speaks during the press conference ahead of his WBC and WBO junior lightweight championship fight with Robson Conceição, at Prudential Center on September 21, 2022 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)
By Chris Williams - 03/17/2024 - Comments

Shakur Stevenson is furious at Bill Haney after being told by him that he will never negotiate a fight between him and his son, Devin. Stevenson says he sees fear in Bill for not wanting to let Devin fight him.

Bill’s rationale for wanting nothing to do with the unbeaten WBC lightweight champion Shakur (21-0, 10 KOs) is twofold:

1. He brings nothing to the table
2. Bob Arum chooses his fights

Missed Opportunity

Shakur had a chance to fight Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) when he was the undisputed lightweight champion, but surprisingly, he turned down the 25% offer for the clash. If Shakur is open-minded, there’s a lesson to be learned here. You lose when you overprice yourself and don’t see the big picture. Shakur has too much pride.

So, instead of Devin wasting any more time with Shakur, he vacated his four 135-lb titles, moved up to 140, and dethroned WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis.

It’s fair to say that Shakur regrets his decision to turn down the 25% offer because if he had beaten Haney, he would have ruled the lightweight division and have had his choice of top fighters. They would all have to go through Shakur to get a title shot.

“So basically, I bring nothing to the table cause of a bad performance, but y’all fought Regis and Loma right after bad performances. Yeah, okay, Bill, you can trick the fans and hide who you are, but you can’t trick me, my guy,” said Shakur Stevenson on X, reacting to Bill Haney saying that he ‘brings nothing to the table’ for his son, Devin.

Path Forward

If Shakur wants the fight with Haney, he can move up to 140 and try and force a fight for his WBC title. It probably won’t work because Haney is already on borrowed time at 140, given that he’s rehydrating to 165 lbs. As big as Haney is, he will be forced to move up to 147 soon.

Face it, Shakur, the Haney ship has sailed. You had your chance to fight him when he was at 135, but you refused the 25%. It’s not the end of the world. You still can fight William Zepeda on July 6th, and if you win, move up to 140 and look for the big names in that division.