Shakur Stevenson more than motivated to face Devin Haney

Devin Haney's fans seemed preoccupied with his outward look, despite the fact that he stood tall and flexed for his Australian supporters. The 24-year-old Haney appeared to be in bad condition as he stepped onto the scale before his second matchup with George Kambosos Jr. Many onlookers believed Haney's time in the lightweight division was almost over after he reduced his constantly expanding body to the 135-pound limit.

Naturally, Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) knew for sure that he would keep his lightweight status for at least one fight against Vasiliy Lomachenko before moving on to defeat Kambosos. However, Bill Haney, Devin's father, trainer, and manager, revealed that his son fully plans on defending his throne for at least one full year, even though the undisputed kingpin appears to be on the way out to another division.

Shakur Stevenson's reaction to hearing that Haney had unpacked his lightweight luggage and was settling in was nothing short of hilarious. Due to the dominance of his rivals, the former Olympic silver winner now holds the world titles at 126 and 130 pounds.

But Stevenson (19-0, 9 KOs), who had been struggling to stay in the super featherweight class, finally decided to move five pounds up. On April 8 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, Stevenson will compete in his first match in his new weight division against Shuichiro Yoshino.

Stevenson is focused on defeating the unbeaten Japanese fighter, but he's also motivated by the arrogant words of team Haney. Initially, he thought Haney would leave the lightweight division after his fight against Lomachenko, but now he believes Haney will stay longer. Stevenson is eager to take Haney's championship title if he stays.

“The way Devin talking, Devin talking like he’s gonna stay at 135,” said Stevenson to BoxingScene.com. “His father said there will not be another champion in 2023 so I’m here to prove him wrong.”