The goalposts have wheels, and Shakur Stevenson keeps pushing them.
AKHi TV lays out the latest chapter in the Haney–Shakur saga: Shakur now says 145 pounds is “cool” for the Devin Haney fight — the same catchweight he once called a “done deal,” then went silent on when the Haney camp said Devin’s ready — but now there’s a new condition. He wants more money. Bill Haney has responded.
Let’s run the timeline, because it matters. Shakur called the 145-lb catchweight a done deal. Then the Haney camp accepted the terms and said Devin’s ready. Then Shakur went quiet — no terms, no date, no signature. Now he’s back, and the new ask is cash. The weight’s fine, the opponent’s fine, but the price just went up.
This is the ducking playbook, and we’ve been documenting it. Step one: talk big on social media. Step two: stall when the other side says yes. Step three: introduce a new obstacle the moment the old one gets resolved. Yesterday it was silence. Today it’s “I want more money.” Tomorrow it’ll be something else. The pattern is the point.
And look, fighters deserve to get paid. Nobody’s saying take a bad deal. But there’s a difference between negotiating and never intending to sign — and when every resolved issue gets replaced by a new one, the public can do the math. Devin Haney already said “we’ll get this DONE” at 145. Bill Haney keeps answering every new demand. The Haney side is at the table. The question is whether Shakur ever planned to sit down at it.
Here’s what makes it worse: this is the fight that unlocks everything for Shakur. Beat Haney and the Gervonta Davis fight becomes unavoidable — Tank runs out of road. Keep stalling and the whole division moves on without you. Floyd Schofield just took the WBA belt and has a line of real challengers forming. The lightweight picture is getting painted whether Shakur picks up a brush or not.
Fighters who stand on business sign contracts. Everything else is content. And right now, Shakur Stevenson is producing a lot of content.
Video credit: AKHi TV.
