Stevenson Believes Haney Needs Time to Build his Confidence
Two-division champion Shakur “Fearless” Stevenson (20-0, 10KO) recently opened up about his decision to turn down the 25% offer from unified lightweight champion Devin “The Dream” Haney (30-0, 15KO), shedding light on why he believes the fight wouldn’t have materialized.
The boxing community is well aware of this storyline, as Stevenson rejected an offer he felt was unjust, considering his accomplishments. After some contemplation, he now wonders if calling their bluff might have been the better route.
While addressing the media, Fearless asserted that accepting the lowball offer wouldn’t have guaranteed the Haney fight.
“No, I don’t think that the fight happens if I accepted it . . . I can’t say nothing about it, it is what it is. But yeah, I think that’s a duck because of the fighter that I am, because of the accolades that I got in the sport of boxing. I’m not just no regular fighter moving up to 135 . . . I thought that offer was bullshit. But I ain’t really say no to it. I wanted to keep going and see what can the WBC demand.”
“I don’t think they really wanted to fight me. Like, deep down inside, I don’t think they wanted to get in the ring with a fighter like me right after the performance they had with Lomachenko. I don’t think that their confidence level was super high.”
Fearless is gearing up to face contender Edwin De Los Santos for the vacant WBC title on November 16. It’s safe to say that the saga between him and Haney is far from over, as Stevenson remains open to the idea of a showdown with The Dream at junior welterweight in the future.
