Devin Haney could keep his November 28 date in Atlanta and pursue a second welterweight title against Liam Paro after negotiations with Shakur Stevenson broke down.
An official monitoring the talks told BoxingScene’s Lance Pugmire that Haney will move toward a unification against IBF champion Paro at State Farm Arena. The fight has not been announced, but it would give the WBO champion a route back into the ring after months spent negotiating with Shakur.
Haney has a hold on the venue for November 28, with Brian Norman Jr. and Tiger Johnson penciled in for separate support bouts, according to the report.
Keeping that date would be significant. Haney has not fought since beating Norman on November 22 last year. Another round of prolonged negotiations would threaten to stretch his absence beyond twelve months.
The split with Shakur comes with conflicting explanations. Shakur accused Haney of changing the proposed weight from 145 to 147 pounds. Haney rejected that account, writing on X:
“I agreed to 145.”
Haney also accused Shakur of attempting to introduce a rehydration clause and complained about the time spent negotiating:
“I wasted six months negotiating with you.”
An unnamed official quoted by Pugmire offered a different version, alleging that Shakur accepted 145 pounds without a rehydration clause before Haney’s side changed the weight to 147. Those competing accounts leave the cause of the breakdown disputed.
A Paro fight would allow Haney to turn his attention toward collecting another belt at his established weight. It would also give the Atlanta event a championship main event while Shakur searches for his next opponent.
The next step is getting Paro finalized. Haney has a reported venue hold and a possible opponent, but after spending months on a fight that fell apart, he needs an agreement that gets him back into the ring.
Paro is a significantly better stylistic matchup for fans than Shakur Stevenson. A Haney against Shakur pairing had all the ingredients for twelve rounds of clinching and feinting. Both guys prefer to operate on the outside, pick their moments, and control distance through defensive positioning. Put them together, and you get a low-output chess match where neither wants to lead.
Paro forces the issue. When Paro upset Subriel Matias in Puerto Rico, he showed he does not mind trading in the pocket, digging to the body, and fighting through rough spots.
That pressure directly tests Haney’s vulnerabilities. Haney cannot simply coast behind a safety-first jab for twelve rounds if Paro is actively crowding him, ripping hooks to the ribs, and making every clinch costly. Haney would have to throw real combinations to earn respect and keep Paro off him.
