Shakur Said Yes to 145, Bill Haney Named a Date — the Fight Still Isn't Signed

LAS VEGAS

The biggest all-American fight in boxing just got a lot closer. Shakur Stevenson has publicly accepted Devin Haney's proposal of a 145-pound catchweight with no rehydration clause, posting on X: "145.0 U GOT A DEAL DEEHOE!!!!" Haney quoted the message within the hour: "Crown me #1 P4P after this InshaAllah."

Let's be precise about what happened here, because the distinction matters. The two unbeaten stars have agreed on a weight. They have not announced a signed contract, and the date and venue named since come from one camp, not a confirmation. What they have is something negotiations previously lacked: both fighters publicly agreeing to the same contracted weight, on the record, in front of everybody.

The weight itself tells the story of the negotiation. Stevenson, the four-division world champion from Newark, had been pushing for 144 pounds — a pound below what Haney offered — along with a 10-pound rehydration cap to limit how much size Haney could regain after the weigh-in. Haney, the WBO welterweight champion, countered with 145 and no rehydration clause whatsoever.

"145.0 U GOT A DEAL DEEHOE!!!!"— Shakur Stevenson on X, accepting Haney's terms

Stevenson's message addresses the first condition — the contracted weight. It does not mention the second. If he is accepting Haney's proposal in full, he is conceding more than a single pound. Without the rehydration cap Stevenson wanted, Haney could replenish without restriction, potentially carrying a meaningful size advantage into the ring. That was the entire reason behind Stevenson's earlier insistence on the cap: coming up from 140 pounds — his career-high weight for January's schooling of Teofimo Lopez — he wanted some control over the size of the opponent he would actually face on fight night.

Haney, meanwhile, is already naming his reward. "Crown me #1 P4P after this" is not just trash talk; it is a declaration of what he believes beating Stevenson is worth. And he has a case worth hearing. Stevenson became boxing's third-youngest four-division world champion when he dismantled Lopez to claim the WBO super-lightweight crown. Haney took the WBO welterweight title from Brian Norman Jr. last November and has not fought since. A win over either man is the best victory available to the other.

The size question is real, though. At 145 pounds, the fight sits five pounds above Stevenson's last contracted weight and two below the welterweight limit — closer to Haney's territory than Stevenson's. Haney would deserve full credit for solving one of the most elusive defenses in the sport, but the terms under which he does it will be part of how history grades the win.

"Devin can be 200lbs — he cannot beat you. He can't touch you in any weight class."— Tim Bradley, on his YouTube channel, picking Stevenson

Not everyone is weighing the size disadvantage the same way. Two-division champion Tim Bradley, speaking on his YouTube channel, dismissed the weight gap entirely and picked Stevenson with something approaching certainty — while urging him to take the fight at Haney's full strength so no asterisk attaches to what would be a career-best win.

There is also the promotional machinery to consider. Stevenson signed with Zuffa Boxing in July, and the outfit has yet to put its new four-division champion on Paramount+. A Haney fight would be the kind of debut that justifies the signing — if the teams can finish the deal.

What comes next is the unglamorous part: contracts — and, on the latest reporting, the money. The public has seen the weight agreed in real time. The rest happens in rooms without cameras. But for the first time in this long-running negotiation, both fighters are pointing at the same number — and in boxing, that is how superfights start.

The latest — updated October 15

Since that exchange, the Haney camp has put specifics on the table. Bill Haney, Devin's father and trainer, told the Tru Media Podcast that the challenge to Stevenson's team is to take the fight at 145 pounds on November 28 in Atlanta — "the offer is on the table" — and he gave the same plan speaking with Coach Malachi, as Boxing News reported: 145 is on for November 28, with State Farm Arena the venue named. talkSPORT reported the same November 28 Atlanta target. Bill Haney has also said the offer is presented from DAZN, Devin's broadcaster, in conjunction with Stevenson's promoter, Zuffa Boxing — though Boxing News notes it remains to be seen whether Stevenson's agreement with Zuffa allows him to fight on that platform at all.

Read that for exactly what it is: a target named by one camp, not a confirmed fight. Stevenson has not publicly accepted the November 28 date itself, and in the past week the argument has moved. The Ring's Mike Coppinger, as reported by Boxing Wire, identified the hold-up — money, mostly — while adding that he believes the fight gets done. Boxing Wire's assessment is that November 28 now looks unlikely.

The temperature from the Haney side has changed, too. Bill Haney has complained publicly that Stevenson's team has gone quiet since the weight was settled; as BoxingScene reported, he wants to know where Stevenson has gone. And when Zuffa's Dana White was asked about the November 28 target after the Contender Series, he dismissed it in one line: "If it was, I would have announced it."

One thing does look settled. Stevenson's acceptance never mentioned the 10-pound rehydration cap he had demanded, and Boxing News reads the silence the way we do: with no clause raised in the exchange, that hurdle appears to have been cleared. It is an appearance, not a signed term. Until contracts exist, everything about this fight — the date, the venue, the money — is an appearance. We will update this story when that changes.