Devin Haney has made his decision.
The WBC, however, has not.
BoxingScene.com has learned that Haney will move forward with tentative plans to next challenge WBC junior welterweight titlist Regis Prograis (29-1, 24KOs). Their respective teams remain in talks for potential showdown later this fall.
The decision was made right at the eleventh hour of the extended deadline provided to Haney whether to next fight at 140 or remain at lightweight, where 2016 Olympic Silver medalist and former two-division titlist Shakur Stevenson is the mandatory challenger.
However, Boxing Scene has learned that Haney’s team has petitioned the WBC to instead retain his lightweight title through his potential fight versus Prograis. Stevenson’s side, in turn, has petitioned the WBC to honor its previous ruling and declare the title vacant based on Haney’s decision to not honor his mandatory title defense.
Boxing Scene has additionally learned that the matter will now appear before the WBC Board of Governors, who will vote on whether to grant Haney’s request or declare its lightweight title vacant.
Efforts to contact the WBC, and representatives for Haney and Stevenson were not immediately returned as this goes to publication.
The current steps in place provide, in effect, a second extension to original July 21 deadline imposed to resolve this dilemma. It’s also a violation of its own rules which disallow for modifications under such circumstances.
However, it remains unclear what action—if any—will be taken should the WBC approve Haney’s request to retain his title through his next fight. It would directly impact the status of Stevenson’s next contest since he is entitled to next challenge for the title.
It was confirmed earlier in the month that Stevenson (20-0, 10KOs) is due to next challenge for the lightweight title in a bid to become a three-division champion. The former WBO featherweight titlist and unified WBC/WBO junior lightweight champ earned the position in a sixth-round knockout of unbeaten Shuichiro Yoshino in their April 8 WBC lightweight title eliminator in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey.
Haney was officially placed on the clock in mid-July, roughly two months after a May 20 unanimous decision win over former three-division titlist Vasiliy Lomachenko to successfully defend his undisputed crown.
The 24-year-old from Las Vegas by way of California’s Bay Area has held the full WBC title since October 2019 and has made seven overall title defenses. Haney fully unified the division with a wide decision win over unbeaten lineal WBA/IBF/WBO champ George Kambosos last June 5 in Melbourne, Australia. He repeated the feat last October before his win over Lomachenko earlier this spring.
Little was made of next steps for the unbeaten champ until the WBO called for clarification on his next move. The Puerto Rico-headquartered organization was more interested in whether Haney planned to challenge newly crowned lineal/WBO champ Teofimo Lopez, though their deadline came and went without an official response from Haney, which was treated as a decision to remain put at lightweight.
Stevenson is the number-one ranked WBO lightweight contender and has petitioned to be named mandatory.
Haney also has a confirmed mandatory with the IBF, where Argentina’s Gustavo Lemos is the challenger in waiting. It has been theorized that Lemos would ultimately fight for the vacant title, potentially versus Mexico City’s Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz if he beats Giovani Cabrera on the Errol Spence-Terence Crawford undercard this Saturday in Las Vegas.
Cruz is the next highest ranked contender in line and has already twice rejected paths that would allow him to move up in the WBC rankings and challenge for its title.
The WBA situation is the least problematic. Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (29-0, 27KOs) holds the ‘Regular’ lightweight title and would be upgraded to ‘Full’ champ under a scenario where Haney abandoned—or is ordered to act on—his WBA ‘Super’ title status.
For now, the focus is on whether Haney-Prograis will get made and whether he will enter the ring as undisputed champion. Stevenson and his team will undoubtedly want confirmation on the latter before either he or Haney enter the ring, as it is abundantly clear it will no longer come versus each other.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox