NEWARK — Unbeaten pound-for-pound stars Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson are in "advanced discussions" for a welterweight title showdown, with a connected official telling BoxingScene that sentiment is growing the blockbuster bout will get done.
Four-division champion Stevenson, 25-0 (11 KOs), and current WBO welterweight champion Haney, 33-0 (15 KOs), are both listed in the mythical pound-for-pound rankings. The 29-year-old Stevenson turned to Haney, 27, after a failed effort to stage a Stevenson-Manny Pacquiao bout on the 11 December Anthony Joshua-Tyson Fury heavyweight card in Cardiff, Wales. An official explained that "two eight-figure fighters" were too much to fund for a co-main event on an already expensive Netflix card.
The pair have jostled over weight requirements on social media. Haney has requested Stevenson fight him at 147lbs with no rehydration clause after Stevenson debuted at 140lbs on 31 January by winning the WBO title easily over Teofimo Lopez, while Stevenson has countered that the bout should be staged with a weigh-in limit of 144lbs. Stevenson wrote on X within the past 24 hours: "Let's scrap the online negotiations. Let's drop our nuts in front of the world and make the biggest and best fight in boxing."
Promoted by Zuffa Boxing, the fight would mark the Newark, New Jersey fighter's debut bout for Zuffa. Stevenson was also in talks with WBA 140lbs champion Gary Antuanne Russell, whose brother-trainer Gary Russell Jnr said the offer was a low-ball of less than $2 million. Three-division champion Haney had previously been linked to IBF welterweight champion Liam Paro before this opportunity emerged.
BoxingScene was told recently that Haney was eyeing a 28 November bout in Atlanta, though it remains unclear if that date and venue will host the meeting if finalised. With both men unbeaten and holding multiple-division credentials, the welterweight clash would rank among the biggest fights in boxing if terms are agreed.