If Eddie Hearn were advising Shakur Stevenson the British promoter would’ve encouraged one of the top pound-for-pound performers in boxing to at least consider accepting the 75-25 split he was offered for challenging undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney.

Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) was understandably unwilling to accept the purse split that would’ve heavily favored Devin Haney had Stevenson, the WBC’s mandatory challenger for one of Haney’s championships, agreed to face Haney next. The former featherweight and junior lightweight champion will instead fight for the WBC’s unclaimed lightweight title November 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where he’ll battle Dominican southpaw Edwin De Los Santos (16-1, 14 KOs) in a 12-round main event ESPN will televise.

Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) has been declared the WBC’s lightweight champion in recess because he has moved up to the 140-pound division for his next fight. He’ll challenge WBC super lightweight champ Regis Prograis (29-1, 24 KOs) in a DAZN Pay-Per-View main event December 9 at Chase Center in San Francisco.

From Hearn’s perspective, the divergent paths Stevenson and Haney have taken leaves Stevenson in as much of a business bind as possible for a fighter earning seven figures per bout.

“Shakur Stevenson’s in a tough spot, right?,” Hearn told a group of reporters after promoting the Prograis-Haney press conference Tuesday in San Francisco. “He may be pound-for-pound number one, all right? I mean, I believe he may go on to be it. He hasn’t beaten the guys yet to say that he is and he’s not the biggest draw around. I don’t think that he’s necessarily been promoted in the greatest fashion. But for some reason, and this is a bit like [Terence] Crawford of the past, it just hasn’t stuck in terms of the fan base. Do you know what I mean?

“So, if you’re fighting Shakur Stevenson, what you’re doing is you’re fighting one of the best fighters in boxing for not a lotta money. Right? And we all know that a manager’s job and a lawyer’s job is to make as much money as possible against the easiest opponent out there. And that’s very frustrating for a promoter, but that’s the truth.”

Each of the 26-year-old Stevenson’s past two fights, wins against Brazil’s Robson Conceicao and Japan’s Shuichiro Yoshino, have drawn respective announced crowds of 10,107 and 10,408 to Prudential Center, the downtown arena in Stevenson’s hometown of Newark, New Jersey. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist’s last fight in Las Vegas, a convincing victory over Oscar Valdez in April 2022, attracted an announced audience of 10,102 to MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Haney’s drawing power will be tested December 9, when he’ll headline a card at the home venue of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. The 24-year-old Haney was born in San Francisco and raised in nearby Oakland, but he hasn’t boxed in the Bay Area since he made his pro debut in December 2015.

Had Haney-Stevenson materialized, Prograis-Haney wouldn’t have been scheduled. Hearn nevertheless views it as a missed opportunity for Stevenson to have possibly become boxing’s undisputed lightweight champion against unbeaten contemporary.

“You know, that’s a fight that should be making these guys [eight] figures [apiece],” Hearn said. “But if you’re Shakur Stevenson, you also need to understand that you need a breakout fight like that. And sometimes you have to take a smaller end to make a fight happen.

“But Shakur is of the mindset where he’s going and maybe his team is saying, ‘There’s no way we’re taking 25 percent.’ But what if he did take 25 percent? And what if you beat Devin Haney and you were undisputed at 135? And then you become a mega star. So, I see both sides.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.