Via Knitting Ambrosio: Shakur Stevenson says Devin Haney will have no choice but to go against him or Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis or drop his undisputed lightweight championship this year if he succeeds Vasyl Lomachenko on May 20.
Without a Top Rated forcing this to happen, whether Haney would agree to fight Stevenson is a question. More than likely, Haney will balk and want an easier option.
Stevenson (19-0.9 KO) pointed out that Devin’s father, Bill Haney, recently said they will be at 135 for all of 2023 and that whoever wants four lightweight belts, they will have to get past them. .
Shakur will take Bill’s word by chasing Devin (29-0, 15 KOs), as long as he wins his next match against Lomachenko. Whether they want to make the next battle between Stevenson and Haney will depend on Top Rank.
Will Haney fight Stevenson?
Bill Haney might just be squawking because he’s on camera and he knows Devin will be too exhausted at 135 for him to stand a chance against Stevenson. Haney wouldn’t beat a boxer with Stevenson’s talent for using the ugly punch and hold technique he showed in both fights against George Kambosos Jr.
If Haney chooses against the idea, he could drop his WBC belt to beat Shakur. What could accelerate Haney’s weight gain to 140 is if he struggles to hit the 135 lb weight limit for the Lomachenko bout because he’s been looking as big as a house lately and it won’t be easy for him. losing weight. regardless of his weight.
One could argue that Haney is a 147-pound person at this point in his career, making it very difficult for him to lose large amounts of muscle and water weight to get down to 135.
The only reason why Haney couldn’t fight at 135 for a long time was because of his youth. Younger boxers can drop large amounts of weight without affecting them.
When they reach a certain age, boxers are forced to compete in their correct weight class because their bodies are too hard to cool down. Haney may have reached that point in his career as he looked like he was about to die in his last weight loss for a rematch with George Kambosos Jr last October.
Stevenson will resist Shuichiro Yoshino (16-0, 12 KOs) in the next 12-round match on April 8 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, USA The match will be shown on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.
Shakur wants Devin to stay 135
“The way Devin is saying it, he will be at 135. His father [Bill Haney] says there won’t be another champion in 2023, so I’m here to prove him wrong,” Shakur Stevenson told fight when asked if Devin Haney will increase to 140 by 2023.
“Devin has no choice. Either me, or Tank. After Lomachenko, either me, Tank, Ryan, or whoever; That’s it,” said Shakur. “It’s okay, solid,” Stevenson said when asked about Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis’ recent win over Hector Luis Garcia on January 7. “I mean, he’s tough. I don’t have too much to say about it.
“It’s the best image I’ve ever seen of him. He had a great training camp with me. We did a lot of rounds. We had him sharp, and he did really well,” Shakur said of lightweight Richardson Hitchins, who beat John Bauza by a unanimous decision in the 10th round last Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“I’ve certainly been there with some of the best 140-pound boxers in the world and he’s definitely beaten a lot of people I’ve fought in the ring,” Stevenson said when asked if Hitchins could win. can win the world championship in light weight.
“It’s a problem with these people and these fans. tall guy, what is japanese guy?. If I fight him [Masayoshi Nakatani]the world would go, ‘This is a great test for Shakur at 135. It’s the same guy. [Shuichiro Yoshino] that knocked him down, didn’t it?
“So if the fans of the war really do their homework, they’ll understand why I’m fighting this war,” Stevenson said of why he’s facing Yoshino on April 8 instead of another competitor. “I tried going down the list.
“I tried Isaac Cruz, I tried [William] Zepeda, I’ve tried everyone before him [Yoshino], and it failed. They don’t want to fight me,” Shakur said.
