Devin Haney‘s next opponent appears to have finally been decided.
Haney was last in action in November 2025, when he dropped Brian Norman Jr on his way to a unanimous decision victory to claim the WBO welterweight title.
Despite that impressive win, ‘The Dream’ hasn’t yet been able to capitalise on that performance, as it is now approaching 12 months since he was in the ring.
It looked like his return may have come against fellow pound-for-pound rival Shakur Stevenson, after the pair were involved in negotiations in recent weeks.
Those hopes ended when Stevenson parted ways with Zuffa Boxing and announced he would be campaigning at 135lbs and 140lbs for the foreseeable future, while Haney has since signed an exclusive deal with DAZN.
The first fight in that deal has now been reported, after The Ring stated that Haney is set for a unification battle with IBF welterweight champion Liam Paro.
“Devin Haney will face Liam Paro in a WBO and IBF welterweight title unification fight on December 19th in San Francisco at Chase Center, sources tell The Ring’s @MikeCoppinger.”
Paro won the belt in June with a unanimous decision win over Lewis Crocker in Australia, making him a two-weight world champion after previously holding world honours at 140lbs.
With the Haney vs. Paro winner set to secure two world titles, they may then look towards an undisputed showdown with the winner of the rumoured bout between WBC champion Ryan Garcia and WBA champion Teofimo Lopez.
A stumbling block could emerge though as the WBA belt may yet not be up for grabs in that battle, due to the current situation involving mandatory challenger Jack Catterall.
