Shakur Stevenson has once again offered his services to replace Ryan Garcia as the opponent for WBC light welterweight champion Devin Haney on April 20th on DAZN PPV.
Devin’s dad, Bill Haney, rejected the possibility of a fight with Shakur (21-0, 10 KOs), saying he ‘brings nothing to the table. Shakur reacted to that comment by saying, “I smell [fear].”
Haney (31-0, 15 Kos) posted a remark in response, taking issue with Shakur continually calling him out, even though he’s now fighting at 140, not 135, and telling him that he needs to focus on fighters in the lightweight division.
Of course, that’s a little hypocritical on Haney’s part, as he and his dad, Bill, have been calling out lightweight Gervonta Davis nonstop despite the two not sharing the same weight class.
“I’m willing to step in for the fighter with CLEAR MENTAL HEALTH issues but if your father is NEVER willing to make a fight wit me then it’s nothing else to talk about,” said Shakur Stevenson on X about him willing to replace Ryan Garcia as the opponent for Devin Haney on April 20th.
“Look, I’m willing to fight u and him at WHENEVER y’all say the word.”
Haney should be overjoyed about Shakur wanting to step in and replace Ryan, who clearly has a mental health problem right now. Shakur is a far better option for Haney to defend his WBC light welterweight title against than Arnold Barboza Jr., who has no fan base.
Haney’s PPV numbers would be just as poor as his fight with Regis Prograis, and that would hurt his negotiating ability moving forward. Some would argue that the real issue is that Haney doesn’t want to fight Shakur because it’s a risky fight that he could lose, and if he gets beaten, his marketability will plunge.
He’ll be back at the contender stage, and he won’t be enjoying the nice paydays he is now after his wins over Regis, Vasily Lomachenko, and George Kambosos Jr.
