By Jake Donovan
It wasn't the news he wanted to hear at the time, but Devin Haney knew there was a reason his next fight wouldn't be for a major title.
The 20-year young lightweight contender was already eyeing a vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) title fight versus England's Luke Campbell upon signing with Matchroom Boxing USA earlier this year, eager to the point of willing to delay his DAZN debut in order to contend for such a prize.
Instead came the news that unified titlist Vasiliy Lomachenko was granted the opportunity to first face Campbell, with their bout taking place Aug. 31 in London, England. The consolation prize for the odd man out was the assurance of landing the winner, providing he gets past Russia's Zaur Abdullaev in a Sept. 13 title eliminator between unbeaten lightweights at Madison Square Garden's Hulu Theatre in New York City.
"When I first found out... I was pretty upset," Haney (22-0, 14KOs) admitted during a recent media conference call to discuss his upcoming DAZN-streamed headliner versus Abdullaev (11-0, 7KOs). "It was originally supposed to be two eliminators (between Haney, Campbell, Abdullaev and Teofimo Lopez, the latter whom declined to pursue an opportunity with another sanctioning body) with the winners to face each other for the title. I was pretty bummed about it.
"But I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. It's all about timing."
That timing led back to his original plan of making his DAZN debut in May. Haney did so in a big way, scoring a highlight reel 7th round knockout of Antonio Moran which should be well-represented come year-end awards season.
From there came the opportunity to position himself for that coveted first title shot—one which now has so much more at stake. Should he win on Sept. 13, the timing will work out in a big way for the rising contender. While the WBC's decision to advance a unified titlist in Lomachenko ahead of its ranked contenders was met with criticism for bending its own rules, it also creates the scenario of the Aug. 31 winner walking away with three major lightweight titles.
Even better, the winner will already be established by the time the title eliminator rolls around.
"I like that I'm going to know in advance," notes Haney. After the fight I can call out the exact person. There's no guessing who I have to fight next, I can say that I'm going to fight that person, he is the world champion."
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox