Devin Haney Retaining the WBC Franchise Belt for Security
When the WBC decided to conjure up the unneeded and ultra-confusing “Franchise champion” designation, it caused nothing but problems. The most damage, however, transpired in the lightweight division. Here, former unified 135-pound champion Teofimo Lopez fraudulently called himself the undisputed champion due to having all the major sanctioning bodies belts minus the WBC. The WBC lightweight title was and remains in the possession of Devin “The Dream” Haney (28-0, 15 KO’s).
Instead of holding the traditional strap, Lopez held the Franchise title which he won from Vasiliy Lomachenko. Lopez would go on to lose all his titles to George Kambosos who just lost all his titles to Haney, who is now the legitimate undisputed champion of the division. Heading into his dustup with Kambosos, The Dream expressed little desire to retain the cumbersome belt if won.
SWITCH IN ATTITUDE?
Now that Haney owns the ferociously ridiculous designation, many wondered what he would do with it. Naturally, given the flack that he’s given the strap, most would think that he’d give it up immediately. Yet, it actually appears that The Dream will hold on to the status for the foreseeable future. At least this is the impression that he left during a recent interview with ThaBoxingVoice.
“Like I said, I am the e-mail, I’m the Franchise, I’m the IBF, WBA, WBO, I got all of them; the Ring. Anybody want anything, they got to come through me! So it is no dispute, I got it all!”
Judging by this response, Haney is not going to cast the designation to the side as one might have imagined. Only time will truly tell, yet, as he said himself, the days of Haney being marginalized as an “e-mail champion” are now well in his past!
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By: Bakari Simpson
