Undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney is ready for the next challenge in his career. Haney is set to move up in weight to face WBC super lightweight champion Regis Prograis on Oct. 28. The fight was first announced in a tweet on Friday from ESPN's Mike Coppinger which Haney retweeted shortly thereafter.
Haney (30-0, 15 KO) defeated George Kambosos Jr. in June 2022 to unify his WBC lightweight title with the WBO, IBF and WBA titles. After successfully defending his titles in the rematch, both fights taking place in Kambosos' native Australia, Haney put the belts on the line against Vasiliy Lomachenko in May.
After 12 rounds of high-level technical action, Haney was declared the winner by unanimous decision. The decision was met with mild controversy but a narrow Haney win was seen by most as justifiable if maybe not the preferred result.
Haney is a big lightweight and a move up in weight was expected to come sooner or later. Boxing Scene reported that Haney decided to move up to 140 pounds in pursuit of Prograis' title but was also petitioning the WBC to allow him to retain his lightweight title. Had he remained at lightweight for his next fight, Haney was expected to face WBC mandatory challenger Shakur Stevenson in a battle of two of the sport's best young fighters.
Pick a number and wait in line. Devin next!!! https://t.co/XhR8hEUIVa
— Rougarou (@RPrograis) July 28, 2023
Prograis (29-1, 24 KO) elevated his profile when participating in the World Boxing Super Series starting in 2018. After defeating Terry Flanagan in the opening round, Prograis won his first world title when he defeated Kiryl Relikh to capture the WBA championship in the semifinals.
The finals saw Prograis come up short against Josh Taylor by majority decision in an outstanding fight. Prograis has since rattled off five consecutive wins, eventually capturing the vacant WBC title with a knockout of Jose Zepeda. In his most recent outing, Prograis edged out an unexpectedly narrow split decision win over Danielito Zorrilla in June.
Oct. 28 is now a huge date for boxing fans, with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury facing former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a fight from Saudi Arabia that will air in the afternoon in the United States and Prograis vs. Haney in the evening.
