Although he stood tall and flexed for his Australian supporters, Devin Haney’s fans appeared concerned with his outward appearance. Heading into his second showdown against George Kambosos Jr., the 24-year-old Haney walked onto the scale seemingly in awful shape. After depleting his ever-growing body down to the 135-pound limit, a slew of observers were convinced that Haney’s time in the lightweight division was just about over with.
Of course, before going on to outclass Kambosos, Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) knew good and well that he would extend his lightweight stay for at least one bout against Vasiliy Lomachenko. However, even with the undisputed kingpin seemingly on his way out, Bill Haney, Devin’s father, trainer, and manager - revealed that his son fully intends on defending his throne for at least one full year.
News of Haney unpacking his lightweight bags and getting comfortable was met with a gigantic grin from Shakur Stevenson. The former Olympic silver medalist has dominated his competition, resulting in world title reigns at both 126 and 130 pounds.
But after being unable to squeeze down to the super featherweight division any longer, Stevenson (19-0, 9 KOs) reluctantly opted to move five pounds north. For his first fight in his new weight class, Stevenson will take on Shuichiro Yoshino on April 8th, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Taking down the undefeated Japanese native might be at the forefront of Stevenson’s mind, but the 25-year-old is admittedly motivated by the bombastic and hubris-filled words of team Haney. Although at one point Stevenson believed that Haney would flee the lightweight division following his showdown against Lomachenko, he no longer believes that. If he’s ultimately proven right and Haney remains a bit longer, Stevenson is salivating to strip him of his championship status.
“The way Devin talking, Devin talking like he’s gonna stay at 135,” said Stevenson to BoxingScene.com. “His father said there will not be another champion in 2023 so I’m here to prove him wrong.”
