LIGHTWEIGHT champion Devin Haney could stay at the weight division but only for fights that would be too big to turn down.
Haney 29-0 (15) defends his 135lbs crown against former number one Vasiliy Lomachenko 17-2 (11) on May 20 in Las Vegas. A win for the American could lead to monstrous fights against some of the divisional superstars or end his time there and see him pack up for a move to super-lightweight.
The 24-year-old is a much bigger lightweight than most and showed signs of his struggles to make the 135lbs limit by looking skeletal when he weighed in for his rematch with George Kambosos last year. But Haney admitted to ESPN Deportes that there are a couple of fights that would keep him at 9st 9lbs.
“The only way I’m going to stay at 135 is because of guys like [Shakur] Stevenson, or guys like Tank [Davis].
“I don’t plan to be here much longer. This has been my first weight class. I’ve been at 135 since I was 16-years-old, my body has been maturing. I’ve been saying this for a long time.”
Davis is arguably the hottest property in boxing right now after his win over Ryan Garcia last month. Stevenson made his 135lbs debut with a world-class display against Shuichiro Yoshino in April too. Both men have been vocal about facing one another or Haney since their respective wins and the champion isn’t surprised by the callout by Stevenson.
“That’s what he was supposed to say. Now we’re in the same weight class. I’m the champion with all the belts, that’s what he was supposed to say.
“There were times where I wanted someone to challenge me, where I wanted someone to fight me. So, when a guy says he wants to fight me, I can’t get mad about it.”
