Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney simply don’t like each other. They’ve gone from respectfully calling each other out, to hurling curse-filled tirades at one another every chance they get.
For Stevenson, he wants what he believes he’s earned. After moving up in weight earlier this year and making quick work of Shuichiro Yoshino, the former Olympic gold medalist wanted a shot at Haney. With the Las Vegas resident holding all four major world titles at 135 pounds, Stevenson knows that the road to becoming a world champion goes through his rival.
Following several months of back-and-forth trash talk, both sides engaged in conclaves in an attempt to put together a deal. According to Stevenson, Haney offered him a contract that would pay him 25%, something that left the former two-division titlist acrimonious.
Once Stevenson turned it down, team Haney went in another direction. Now, the 24-year-old is attempting to hammer out a deal with Regis Prograis, the WBC champ at 140 pounds.
Since their failed negotiations, Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) has claimed that Haney is flat-out ducking him, a sentiment Haney has of course denied. On the outside looking in, Shane Mosley has his own thoughts on how things are playing out. And while he doesn’t know every detail of what’s taken place, he reveals that he’s firmly on the side of Stevenson.
“That means that he doesn’t want to fight,” said Mosley to The Art Of Dialogue. “Come on man, stop it. You know what type of fighter he is. That’s what you do when you don’t want to fight somebody.”
Despite Stevenson receiving the backing of Mosley, Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) doesn’t believe for a single second that Stevenson would get the better of him if they squared off. From his point of view, the offer he sent out to Stevenson was more than fair.
Ultimately, Mosley couldn’t care less when it comes to the business side of things. He simply wants to see them fight. If they did, the former multi-divisional champ would have a hard time picking a winner. Although he has deep reverence for what Stevenson brings to the table, he knows good and well that Haney is a unique talent and tremendous fighter in his own right.
“I actually don’t know. My mind says Shakur probably wins but it could be hard for Shakur.”