Devin Haney is now officially a former lightweight champion. Haney has decided to vacate the WBA, IBF and WBO lightweight titles ahead of his Dec. 9 bout with WBC super lightweight champion Regis Prograis.
Haney informed ESPN of his decision on Wednesday, citing the failure of a fight with Gervonta “Tank” Davis to materialize as the final straw in his decision to make his move up in weight permanent. Also, Haney suggested that his super lightweight career could be short-lived.
“I did everything at 135 that I could,” Haney said. “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.”
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Haney became undisputed lightweight champion in June 2022 when he unified his WBC belt with George Kambosos’ WBA, IBF and WBO titles. He successfully retained undisputed status in the rematch before facing Vasiliy Lomachenko this past May. Haney pulled off the win over Lomachenko via a mildly-controversial unanimous decision after 12 rounds of outstanding boxing from both men.
Haney’s move to 140 pounds to challenge for Prograis’ title follows a recent trend of fighters moving up from a lightweight division that was loaded with talented young fighters and the center of the boxing world over the past few years. Haney joins Teofimo Lopez and Ryan Garcia in that group, with all three young fighters naturally growing out of the 135-pound division.
