“They agreed on everything. They agreed on the money. Everything was good to go. They both wanted to do the fight. The weight remains the holdup, and it’s a big holdup. Shakur Stevenson wants 144. Devin Haney wants 147,” said Coppinger to Inside Ring Show.
This is not a new round of talks. Haney and Stevenson publicly discussed 144 pounds in June, with Haney asking if accepting that weight would secure the fight. Stevenson answered yes, but their social-media exchange never became a signed contract.
The process became tangled in Haney’s WBO obligations involving Keyshawn Davis and competing claims over which side had completed its paperwork. Bill Haney said they were waiting on Stevenson, while Shakur later maintained that his side had signed. Communication then disappeared from public view during August.
Haney’s previous fight against Jose Ramirez was contested at 144 pounds, giving Stevenson a reasonable basis for demanding the same limit. Haney owns more leverage now as the WBO welterweight champion and can argue that Shakur, who has fought only once at 140, must come to his division at 147 if he wants the title.
Stevenson recently displayed a scale reading below 149 pounds, illustrating why the final three pounds matter to him. Making 147 would not prevent Haney from replenishing well beyond that figure before the opening bell. If Shakur accepts Haney’s limit, he can demand a rehydration restriction as compensation, but the champion has little incentive to surrender the physical benefit attached to his division.
Haney also has more freedom to wait. Potential fights with Ryan Garcia, Conor Benn, or another leading welterweight could eventually offer strong money. Shakur has fewer lucrative choices at 140, where a Gervonta Davis fight remains unlikely.
That imbalance keeps Stevenson at the negotiating table but leaves Haney comfortable holding firmly at 147. One side must surrender a meaningful advantage before Shakur’s recent fight-announcement tease can become a Haney deal.
Photo AI-created.
