Devin Haney has decided that he does not need Teofimo Lopez Jr. as a dance partner to delineate himself as a big-name boxer.
“Lopez said I have to fight Rolly [Rolando Romero] to get him when I don’t need Teofimo to become a star. Teofimo is not someone that I need. I still make more money than fighting Teofimo Lopez. For him to say that I have to go through Rolly to get to you is ridiculous. I don’t really need you, Teofimo,” Haney told Behind The Gloves.
“My main focus is to keep winning and collect all of the belts in my division. Fame will come, the money will come in good time. I want belts more than anything.”
Haney is the WBC lightweight champion, while Lopez is the WBO, WBA, IBF and WBC franchise champion with a stronger resume at lightweight after beating Vasiliy Lomachenko last year.
If Haney wants the belts that he desires, the only way to get them for now is to fight Lopez.
Lopez however will be fighitng his IBF mandatory challenger George Kambosos Jr. on Triller pay-per-view, while Haney is likely headed toward a WBC mandatory defense of his title against Javier Fortuna, or a fight with Jorge Linares.
They’re not the fights that Haney’s longing for, but it will have to do for the time being because he believes Lopez, Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia are all avoiding him.
“I don’t feel like there should be any trouble making these fights, because if the fighters want these fights to happen, we should be able to make them happen,” said Haney. “You guys only have a matter of time to keep ducking me. Pretty soon you guys are going to be cornered and you’ll have to fight me. So be prepared because pretty soon you’ll be facing me.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com