The work he put in at 130 and 126 pounds made Shakur Stevenson believe that he did more than enough to earn a shot at Devin Haney’s IBF, WBA, WBC, and WBO 135-pound titles. Although he was forced to play the waiting game a bit, the former Olympic silver medalist wiped the floor with Shuichiro Yoshino. 

Once Stevenson tossed his carcass to the side, he grabbed his pen and paper and began knocking loudly on the door of Haney. The 25-year-old stepped carefully off his undisputed throne, turned the knob, and allowed Stevenson to walk through. The two then immured themselves and began talking figures. 

In short order, the door flung open as a surly Stevenson stormed out, disgusted by what took place. According to the former two-division titlist, Haney’s offer of 25% was insulting. Stevenson’s assertions, from Haney’s point of view, couldn’t be further from the truth. 

The now former undisputed champ pulled out his calculator and crunched the numbers. Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) has made healthy checks from the moment he turned pro. But, the money he would’ve made if he simply accepted Haney’s offer would have dwarfed his previous figures. 

“Shakur knows what time it is with me,” Haney told a group of reporters. “He knows my offer was legitimate. If he really believed in himself, he would’ve took the fight. It was the most money he would’ve ever made with all his fights put together with that 25%. That’s a fact.” 

For now, both men have gone their separate ways. Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) is moving up in weight to take on Regis Prograis. Stevenson, on the other hand, is fighting Edwin De Los Santos on November 16th, for the vacant WBC title. 

Before he formally decided that fighting Haney wasn’t worth it financially, Stevenson stated time and time again that Haney just wasn't on his level. By and large, Stevenson used every curse word imaginable to describe his man, even going as far as to say that Haney was a “b!tch” and walk in the park. 

In the end, Stevenson was merely bloviating. When he was asked to zip his lips and place his name on the dotted line, he opted to go in another direction. And, in Haney’s opinion, that says it all. 

“If he felt like I was so easy, so green, a b!tch, then he would’ve took the fight. He would’ve had a shot at the undisputed titles.”