Devin Haney has relinquished his World Boxing Council (WBC) super lightweight championship title, opting instead to become the WBC champion-in-recess. This decision transfers the WBC title to Alberto Puello, prompting the WBC to initiate negotiations between Puello and mandatory challenger Sandor Martin for a mandatory fight.
Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) chose to transition to champion-in-recess status in the super lightweight (140 lbs) division due to his plans for a one-year hiatus. This status allows the American two-division champion to vie for the WBC title upon his return.
A similar situation occurred last year when Haney held the undisputed lightweight (135 lbs) championship and became champion-in-recess to face WBC 140 lbs champion Regis Prograis (29-2, 24 KOs), eventually leading to Haney becoming the WBC super lightweight champion and vacating his 135 lbs titles.
Alberto Puello (23-0, 10 KOs), who hails from the Dominican Republic, now holds his second world championship title following Haney’s relinquishment and his elevation from WBC interim champion to world champion. Puello must first navigate a challenge from Spanish contender Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs), who has remained the WBC mandatory challenger since his appointment at the WBC’s annual convention last November.
Puello previously asserted his claim to the world championship, stating on Twitter/X last week, “I deserve to be the WBC Champion, not Devin Haney, who was beaten by Ryan Garcia. How can he still hold the title if he refuses to fight Martin? He should relinquish the title, and I’ll take care of that.“
Negotiations between Puello and Martin will commence shortly, with purse bid proceedings following if their teams fail to reach an agreement.
Despite the recent WBC mandate, Puello has expressed interest in unifying the titles, stating a preference to face either WBA 140 lbs champion Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) or WBO champion Teofimo Lopez (20-1, 13 KOs).
“Now that I am world champion, what I want is to unify with one of the three champions, preferably Teofimo Lopez [or] Isaac Cruz,” Puello remarked after securing the title.
