American professional boxer Shakur Stevenson (19-0, 9 KOs) says Devin Haney will be forced to defend against him or Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, or vacate his undisputed lightweight championship, assuming he gets the better of Vasyl Lomachenko on May 20.
As long as Top Rank doesn’t force the issue, Haney is unlikely to agree to fight Stevenson. According to Stevenson, Bill Haney recently announced that they were staying at 135 for all of 2023, and anyone who wanted the lightweight belts had to go through them.
Despite the confidence that Haney’s team holds onto, many feel that the punch and hold technique he sported against George Kambosos Jr will not be effective versus a fighter with Stevenson’s talent.
“The way Devin is talking, he’s going to stay at 135. His father [Bill Haney] said there will not be another champion in 2023, so I’m here to prove him wrong.” Shakur Stevenson said to Fighthype.
“Devin has got no choice. It’s either me, or Tank. After Lomachenko, it’s either me, Tank, Ryan, or whoever; that’s it.” Said Shakur.