Haney to vacate lightweight titles ahead of Prograis fight

Devin Haney held at least one lightweight belt for four years

Devin Haney’s reign as undisputed lightweight champion appears to be over, as “The Dream” tells ESPN that he’s vacating all four belts ahead of his December 9th super lightweight debut against Regis Prograis.

“I did everything at 135 that I could,” Haney said Wednesday. “The biggest fight for me was making that Gervonta Davis fight, and his side showed no interest in making the fight. I’ve outgrown the division, so now I make my quest to 140 to become a two-division champion.

“And after this fight, I look to become a three-division champion and move up to 147, God willing that I’m successful in this fight.”

Haney (30-0, 15 KO) won the WBC interim title by stopping Zaur Abdullaev in 2019, was infamously upgraded to full champion when the WBC named Vasiliy Lomachenko “franchise champion,” then made four successful defenses before completing his collection with back-to-back wins over George Kambosos Jr and turning aside Lomachenko in his final lightweight bout.

With Davis ostensibly uninterested and Shakur Stevenson’s stocks at an all-time low, I can’t really blame Haney for packing his bags and skedaddling.

Davis and Stevenson respectively hold the WBA and WBC secondary titles, so as Mike Coppinger points out, odds are that they’ll be upgraded. Lomachenko and Denis Berinchyk sit atop the WBO rankings, but besides the fact that they’re former Olympic teammates and almost certainly wouldn’t fight, Lomachenko reportedly has a pending date with George Kambosos that will now likely be for the IBF belt. Isaac Cruz sits behind Berinchyk and would presumably get the call if “Pitbull” actually got off his ass and fought.