Devin Haney believes a fight with Gervonta Davis is the biggest in boxing, but the 24-year-old has one condition for it to happen.
Haney was undisputed at lightweight before vacating his WBC belt to move up and challenge to become a two-division world champion. Despite that fight on the horizon, he has sights set on current 135 contenders ‘Tank’ Davis and Shakur Stevenson in the future.
In an interview with the MMA Hour, he was asked which fight is more likely to happen.
“The biggest fight is me versus Tank, so I would say that one, but Shakur is not too far behind.”
Haney will only make that fight, though, if Davis joins him up at super-lightweight.
“140. It would have to happen at 140. I mean, he’s fought at 140 before. He beat Mario Barrios at 140. I’m at 140 now. It would make the most sense.
Tank is the type of fighter he says he doesn’t care about belts, right? He doesn’t fight for belts he fights for money. So he wouldn’t care about the belts at 135, he would just want to make the money for fighting me. So 140.”
‘Tank’ fought and beat Barrios in 2021, his one and only fight at the super-light limit. He has since returned to lightweight, but his latest bout against Ryan Garcia was at a catchweight just above – 136.
Haney revealed that he walks around at 160lbs, and that the cut to lightweight is becoming harder and harder with age. Having said that, he doesn’t rule out a drop back down for the right fight.
“For the right fight. We gotta see. If it’s the right money, the right fight, I’ll be at 135 again. But my body’s just maturing and it’s grown so much since the beginning of my career.
I started at 135 when I was 17. I turned pro at 135, I’ve been here for a long time … I gotta get bigger, so 135 will be tougher for me to make, and it was already tough.”
Haney faces Regis Prograis on December 9 for the WBC 140 world title. As for Davis, he’s expected to return in 2024. He may just position himself well to pick up a lightweight belt should Haney vacate the WBA, IBF and WBO along with his WBC.