Former two-division world champion Shakur Stevenson is undoubtedly one of the most talented boxers on the planet but he seems hesitant to prove it after rejecting 75/25 offer from undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney. A fight between the two would set the stage for an exciting bout between two very talented young American fighters. However, Stevenson rejected the contract offer from Haney’s team due to the low percentage he would receive.

Despite Shakur Stevenson’s (20-0, 10 KO’s) conquest of titles in two divisions and his previous unified champion status at 130 lbs, the alleged offer from Devin Haney’s (30-0, 15 KO’s) team suggests they have not taken this into account. Furthermore, it is worth noting that Haney has previously accepted a similar lowball offer before facing George Kambosos Jr. (20-2, 10 KO’s) in his home country of Australia.

Though nothing official has yet to come out regarding contract negotiations, Shakur Stevenson accused Devin Haney of lowballing him with the following Tweet:

“Nah I’m not gone take 25%, but u knew that already, Lil bruh. Be realistic.” Stevenson’s Tweet read on July 1st which presumably was directed at Devin Haney.

Days later, though still not confirmed, Stevenson’s comments seemed to heavily implicate Devin Haney after the undisputed lightweight champion put out his own Tweet on July 4th.

“Bob Arum is the one that relayed the message.” Haney said.

“Send a real offer. Let’s get active champ.” Shakur Stevenson’s Tweet read after the abovementioned Haney message on social media.

Devin Haney’s comments seem to be placing the supposed 75/25 offer in the hands of Top Rank promoter Bob Arum. However, Devin Haney is currently a free agent; ironically after rumors had speculated he had re-signed with Top Rank before his controversial win against Vasyl Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KO’s). Haney had signed with Top Rank since 2022 for two pivotal fights with former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. who he beat twice; becoming undisputed in their first fight and retaining all his titles in the second.

After the Kambosos Jr. fight, Devin Haney continued to fight under Top Rank’s banner for a fight with future Hall of Fame fighter Vasyl Lomachenko. Though he scraped by with a UD win against the Ukrainian, Haney’s win has been noted as highly controversial due to the widespread belief that he had lost.

As a free agent, Haney now has more leeway to decide the next course of his career and has already been linked with a move up to 140 lbs where he would potentially face WBC super lightweight champion Regis Prograis (29-1, 24 KO’s). However, recent Tweets from both Haney and Stevenson now seems to suggest the two might be heading into the ring against each other.

The issue that prevents the fight from being made is tied to the 75/25 offer that (although was not confirmed) seems to have been initiated by Bob Arum himself. Shakur Stevenson is currently signed to Arum’s promotion of Top Rank and a win over Haney would see all of the lightweight titles remain with Top Rank.

Stevenson has displayed a clear unwillingness to sign the contract that was allegedly manufactured by his own promoter Bob Arum citing he has made more in his career than the offer suggests.

“Get off my nuts. I don’t think I’m the A side. I just know my worth and 25% ain’t it and I didn’t turn the fight down either that’s was supposedly be the first offer haven’t heard nun else since.” Shakur Stevenson Tweeted.

The entire matter has been a confusing mess for fans who were hoping to see two talented lightweights face each other and aren’t privy to the details of the supposed negotiations. There is also doubts as to who sent the contract, as Stevenson heavily implies that Devin Haney holds all the cards while Haney himself has pointed out that the matter was in Bob Arum’s hands.

Stevenson’s response haven’t cleared up the matter in the slightest. As the mandatory challenger (as confirmed by Mauricio Sulaiman himself), Stevenson can easily petition for a fight with Haney, but in this case he can also simply negotiate.

Yet, despite the ability to negotiate for a better deal as any boxer has, Stevenson doesn’t seem to understand the concept of what a negotiation is. He is within complete rights to discuss a better deal, as evident with Terence Crawford (39-0, 30 KO’s) and Errol Spence Jr. (28-0, 22 KO’s) who reportedly reached an agreement to fight each other over the phone.

There are more factors in play when it comes to negotiations for fight contracts, but generally speaking a boxer’s willingness to discuss terms can basically decide whether a match occurs or not. Instead of letting his representatives seek contact with Haney’s, Stevenson has mainly just complained on social media over the course of the past days since the apparent 75/25 offer.

As mentioned earlier, Stevenson is also capable of petitioning to fight Haney as he is the WBC mandatory of the lightweight division, but his apparent reluctance to do this is understandable given he will likely receive the same or similar sort of percentage split of 75/25.

Negotiating would be the best option for Shakur Stevenson who believes he is worth more than getting a 25% split; a belief that is based on both merit and profit given what he accomplished and raked in during his time in the lower divisions.

Devin Haney’s status as undisputed champion offers him plenty more options and with a move up towards Super Lightweight being a realistic possibility, Shakur Stevenson has little to no choice but to either negotiate, accept the 75/25 offer or petition for a fight with Haney if he wants to become undisputed.

Another option for Stevenson is to take another fight while Haney presumably moves up. Haney moving up a division would result in him relinquishing his Lightweight titles which would allow Stevenson to fight for those vacant titles against another contender. However, due to the talent available in the division, Stevenson would not be the only boxer fighting for a vacant title and as many as four different champions (including Stevenson) could materialize by the time he fought for his first.

He would then need to face the other champions in order to unify his titles with theirs, and likely have to go through 3 different champions in order to claim the status of undisputed. As can be imagined, this process would take some time and would at least take over a year or two for an undisputed champion to be determined.

Shakur Stevenson does not lack for possibilities but will have to consider all these factors to make the best choice for himself and his career.