WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine lightweight champion Devin ‘The Dream’ Haney 30-0 (15) says the reason he isn’t fighting Shakur ‘Fearless’ Stevenson 20-0 (10) next is because the Newark southpaw rejected the offer put to him.
The 26-year-old Stevenson was offered a 25% purse split with San Franciscan Haney, 24, but thought he deserved a larger slice of the pie for a fight of that magnitude.
“We presented the fight, if he would’ve said yes to the offer I offered him, then the fight would’ve been made,” said Haney on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.
“The twenty-five percent [split of the purse Stevenson would’ve made in the fight] would’ve been bigger than all of his fights put together that he made.
“I think his ego and the people around him made him say no. Also, I don’t think he truly wanted the fight, I think he just wanted to push me out of position… he wanted to fight for a vacant belt rather than me.”
Stevenson, a former Olympic silver medalist, accused Haney’s side of not negotiating in good faith.
“Lying just like his daddy,” Stevenson said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“I can’t push nobody out of position that’s the undisputed champion, only way he could move out of position if he make the CHOICE to move out of position like he did. He chose to move up and fight Regis because he felt that was a easier option.”
Haney will jump up a weight class to challenge WBC junior welterweight champion Regis ‘Rougarou’ Prograis 29-1 (24) at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California on December 9.
Southpaw Prograis, 34, will be making the second defence of the vacant title he won against Jose ‘Chon’ Zepeda 37-4 (28) by 11th round knockout in Carson, California last November.
It will be Prograis’ first fight since his split decision win over Puerto Rican Danielito ‘El Zorro’ Zorrilla 17-2 (13) in June in what was his first fight in front of his home crowd in New Orleans in five years.
Stevenson’s next assignment is a fight against Edwin De Los Santos 16-1 (14) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 16 for the vacant WBC 135-pound belt that formerly belonged to Haney. Stevenson is currently ranked number five by The Ring while De Los Santos is unrated.
Despite being relatively unknown, De Los Santos has some ability. Junior welterweight contender Richardson Hitchins 17-0 (7), who is ranked number five by The Ring, warned Stevenson against overlooking the 24-year-old Dominican southpaw.
“I think De Los Santos is punching very, very hard and he’s skillful,” Hitchins said to MillCity Boxing. “I been in the ring with him. He’s very skillful.
“I think that’s a dangerous fight for Shakur. I think that’s a 50/50 fight. This is the toughest guy Shakur has ever fought.”
