According To Bill Haney, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis Is The Top Priority For Devin Haney

Devin Haney (33-0, 15 KOs) is undoubtedly a hot commodity in his division. As fighters line up to knock at his door, there is one name on his father, Bill Haney’s lips: Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs).

Talking to Inside the Ring, the older Haney stated that Davis was at the top of Team Haney’s list of priorities.

“On the list, Tank Davis, he sits at probably #1. I mean, we’ve been had back and forth…I consider this is real. Me and Al have had discussions, that has made it even more real. Never has anyone said anything about dehydration, rehydration or anything for that matter. So, what I think it should be is a fair fight and that weight is to be determined but it won’t be anything under 144 lbs for nobody in the world,” he said.

The biggest obstacle to a Haney vs. ‘Tank’ Davis fight is Haney’s mandatory title defense against Keyshawn Davis. After Haney won the WBO welterweight title, the WBO ordered him to defend it against Keyshawn, who had become the organization’s mandatory challenger. If Haney chooses to fight Tank instead, he risks being stripped of his WBO belt unless the WBO grants a special exception. Despite that, Team Haney has made it clear that Tank remains their top target.

Haney also insisted they are still interested in making the Shakur Stevenson fight happen. However, the negotiations have stalled because Stevenson has not responded to a proposed agreement for a 144-pound catchweight. Haney’s camp says the fight remains on the table, but until there is meaningful progress in talks, their focus has shifted to Tank.

But this doesn’t mean that Stevenson will give his son a hard time inside the ring, or so says Haney.

“Listen, it’s harder to get him in the ring. It’s been a fight to get him in the ring. I think that’s going to be the hardest part, for Deebo to get him in the ring than to actually be in the ring,” he said.

“Respectfully…”

But where is Ryan Garcia in all this? Did he even make it to Haney’s list? According to Haney, Garcia has a spot, albeit a lot lower than many would like.

“Ryan is, respectfully, on the list. He’s at #10 because there’s some things we would like him to do in terms of maturity or being pushed by his team. Outside of that, we got 10 tremendous fighters. We put that on there, we gave it to Turki, we made it publicly as well as privately known that’s what we want,” he said. “What I want to see is him go to the VADA drug program, give us a significant amount of time for us to have faith that he’s clean.”

Joshua Ben Joseph

Joshua Ben Joseph is a Boxing writer renowned for his unparalleled coverage of live events and insightful interviews with prominent athletes in the world of combat sports. With a career spanning over several years, he has authored more than 800 articles. As an experienced editorial cartoonist and investigative journalist, Joshua has a keen eye for detail and a passion for delivering quality content. Aside from his writing, Joshua is an avid powerlifter and solo traveler, embodying the same spirit of determination and exploration that he brings to his work. With a deep love for the sport of boxing that dates back to childhood, he is committed to delivering the highest quality content and helping to build a more transparent and credible industry.

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