By Craig Daly: Shakur Stevenson believes undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney will beat Vasyl Lomachenko when the time comes for them to fight.
Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) still needs to deal with his rematch with former unified 135-pound champion George Kamboso Jr on Oct. 15, but that fight is seen as merely a formality for the undefeated champion.
But assuming Haney wins, Top Rank plans to match him against former three-division world champion Lomachenko next.
Devin’s father, Bill Haney, will ultimately decide if he is ready to face the 34-year-old Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) at this stage of his career.
“I think Haney gets there first. He is the undisputed champion at 135 so I think he comes in first,” Shakur Stevenson told Fighthype when asked if he would fight Vasyl Lomachenko first or Devin Haney.
“He and Lomachenko deserve to fight each other. Yes, I have Devin winning that fight.
“I will definitely be at the forefront. This is going to be a much more offensive Stevenson,” Shakur said of his title defense Friday night against Robson Conceição.
Stevenson (18-0, 9 KOs) will defend his WBC, WBO and Ring Magazine super featherweight titles against Conceicao (17-1, 8 KOs) this Friday night on ESPN at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
It’s a tough fight for Shakur, as Conceicao is an Olympic gold medalist who arguably beat Oscar Valdez last year in September at Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona.
“Fans, get ready; you’re gonna get what you want. Of course, I’m going to rip it apart, take it apart and do what I have to do.
“We’ll see. It depends on the weight cut. I’m not looking past this guy. I think this guy [Conceicao] he is a solid fighter. He does some things very well, and you have to be prepared for whatever he has that night.
“I’m not looking past him. I’m focused on Robson right now. I don’t see Cordina, Tank. I don’t see anyone else. I just completely saw Robson.
“If it makes sense, I would, but it has to make sense,” Shakur said when asked if he would be willing to travel to the UK to fight Joe Cordina in a super featherweight unification bout.
“I heard that he has 5,000 people in this last fight. I would be willing to do it, but 5,000 people would not be enough to go to England. Maybe, if that’s the case, but someone has to promise me that before I commit to something like that.
“I was up for it until I heard he doesn’t put up those numbers like I thought he did,” Shakur said.
