Devin Haney will return to his hometown for his first welterweight title unification.
Haney, the WBO champion, and IBF titleholder Liam Paro are finalizing a Dec. 19 unification conflict that will take place at San Francisco’s Chase Center.
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The bout will see Haney return to the venue of his dominant win over Regis Prograis in December 2023, which saw him become a two-division champion. It will also be the first bout of a new multi-fight deal between Haney and streaming service DAZN. Uncrowned broke the information of the settlement in July, and it was made official this previous week.
Elsewhere in the welterweight division — and despite inaccurate reports — WBC champion Ryan Garcia and WBA champion Teofimo Lopez are closing in on a welterweight unification of their own. Whether Lopez’s title will be on the line will be determined by the WBA on Nov. 7, because Lopez has an excellent obligatory due against Jack Catterall.
If Haney and Garcia win their bouts, DAZN hopes to stage an undisputed rematch between the pair later in 2027 — which would mark the last battle of Garcia’s present contract with the broadcaster.
Several mandatories stand in the manner of that, though. Not just Catterall and the WBA, but the IBF obligatory challenger Paddy Donovan. Uncrowned understands that the IBF was set to order Paro to face Donovan on or around Jan. 24, although the Haney unification could now alter that timeline.
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Haney (33-0, 15 KOs) captured the WBO belt and grew to become a three-division champion by outclassing Brian Norman Jr. last November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Paro (28-1, 16 KOs) dethroned Lewis Crocker of his IBF title in a intently fought contest in June to become a two-division champion.
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