Mike Coppinger reports that welterweight champions Devin Haney and Liam Paro have agreed to meet in a WBO/IBF unification on U.S. soil by year’s end, ending “The Dream’s” long and often deeply stupid search for his first welterweight title challenger.

Mike does Just Say Things sometimes, especially recentlybut this seems more concrete than his usual “X vs Y is possible” schtick so I figured it was worth sharing.

Recent revelations after Stevenson’s departure from Zuffa suggest that the former Olympian’s excessive financial demands played a big part in ending things, but Haney didn’t exactly come out of it looking rosy. That said, credit for facing arguably the best of his remaining options.

Paro (28-1, 16 KO) braved enemy territory to upset the then-unstoppable Subriel Matias for the IBF super lightweight belt in 2024, then narrowly fell to Hitchins in his inaugural defense. He’s done quite well for himself since moving up to 147, handing David Papot his first loss before grinding his way past reigning champ Lewis Crocker. Credit to him as well; his willingness to make concessions and welcome unfriendly styles stick out in the modern diva era.

Vergil Ortiz Jr. will meet Keith Thurman in a 12-round middleweight clash on December 5, putting a lopsided pairing on a DAZN pay-per-view broadcast that already faces a tough market.

The bout serves as the co-feature under David Benavidez’s cruiserweight unification tilt against Michal Cieslak at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Promoters withheld the official broadcast fee during the rollout. Regardless of the final price tag, Ortiz versus Thurman depends entirely on brand recognition instead of genuine sporting parity.

Thurman steps into this spot fresh off a punishing March defeat against Sebastian Fundora. His prize for that showing is an assignment against another heavy-handed puncher, elevated all the way up to 160 pounds. Convincing fight fans that the former welterweight titleholder retains the tools to pull off an upset here is a massive uphill battle.

Ortiz brings a spotless 24-0 record with 22 knockouts, having wiped out Erickson Lubin in two quick rounds last November following grueling triumphs over Israil Madrimov and Serhii Bohachuk. Thurman built his legacy on signature wins over Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia a decade ago. Those past glories provide zero proof that he can survive Ortiz’s current assault.

Oscar De La Hoya made no effort to disguise the dynamic when pitching the match.

“As a former world champion, Keith Thurman is a crafty, experienced fighter who has been in there with the very best and will give Vergil some good rounds,” De La Hoya stated.

Promising that an opponent can deliver “good rounds” is an astonishingly flat way to promote a premium broadcast. Viewers investing hard-earned cash expect a challenger equipped to win, not merely someone signed to provide rounds of work.

Thurman struck his typical energetic tone.

“I’m back with a vengeance!” Thurman proclaimed. “I’m bringing the heat in December with an action fight against Vergil Ortiz, another young lion.”

No one questions Thurman’s courage for stepping through the ropes. The doubts center on his legs, reflexes, and punch resistance after years of inactivity and physical wear. Stepping up to middleweight introduces severe risks for a combatant whose peak occurred at 147 pounds.

Ortiz collects valuable ring time after sitting on the shelf for over a year. He walks away with an established scalp on his resume, prime airtime, and a stage engineered for a showcase finish. Subscribers simply get a foregone conclusion.

Benavidez versus Cieslak already sparked criticism regarding its balance, and this second feature fails to salvage the event’s overall worth. Until organizers slap a retail tag on the package, the commercial pitch sits half-finished, though the matchmaking alone presents consumers with ample justification to keep their wallets shut.

Selling this package as a premium pay-per-view is borderline insulting to anyone who actually follows the sport.

Thurman is 37, completely inactive, and looked like a shell of himself getting battered by Sebastian Fundora. Feeding a faded, blown-up welterweight whose best days were nearly a decade ago to a ruthless, naturally heavier puncher like Vergil Ortiz Jr. isn’t matchmaking.

It is target practice designed to build a highlight reel under the guise of an old name. De La Hoya practically gave the game away by promising Thurman would provide “good rounds,” which is promoter-speak for surviving as a durable punching bag.

The main event makes the whole card impossible to justify. David Benavidez taking on Michal Cieslak for a cruiserweight belt is another manufactured headliner. Cieslak is a decent European-level operator who already came up short against Lawrence Okolie and Ilunga Makabu years ago.

Asking fans to shell out pay-per-view money to watch Benavidez walk through a predictable challenger while Ortiz clobbers a ghost from the 147-pound division shows total contempt for the consumer’s wallet. It belongs on regular broadcast television at best, not locked behind an extra paywall.

Eddie Hearn wants Shakur Stevenson back under the Matchroom banner. He has already started conversations with the fighter’s team, which explains why he quickly sided with the lightweight star following his split with Zuffa.

Hearn focused his fire on Zuffa, portraying Shakur as a talent let down by a promotional outfit that failed to deliver promised matchups.

“Do I want to sign Shakur Stevenson? Cards on the table. Absolutely,” Hearn said to The Stomping Ground. “But I need to be able to provide the right plan for him and his team, the right money as well.”

Hearn confirmed he has engaged in informal talks, leaning on his close ties to Shakur’s management team, Josh Dubin and James Prince. He even claimed Shakur would pick Matchroom over any rival outfit if money were not the primary decider, though he admitted top dollar will steer the final call.

The core problem that broke Zuffa could easily trip up Hearn.

Rumored figures point to a steep $15 million baseline guarantee, an eye-popping $20 million demand for a Devin Haney clash, plus a flat refusal of a $7 million offer to face Rayo Valenzuela. Demands around catchweights and rehydration limits also bogged down the Haney discussions.

Hearn brushed past those figures. When pressed on the rejected $7 million payday alongside the massive guarantee demands, Hearn contended that Zuffa fell short on an agreed bout and tried to slash pay for a replacement matchup.

“He was promised a fight, they couldn’t deliver it, and then they wanted to cut his money and give him another fight,” Hearn stated. “That’s how I read it between the lines.”

That admission is important. Hearn is publicly offering his own slant on why the Zuffa partnership dissolved.

Bringing Shakur into the Matchroom stable means Hearn must fund those huge purses and secure major opponents himself. Strong personal relationships can kick off discussions, yet they do not balance an unprofitable ledger. If Shakur demands that exact financial structure from Matchroom, Hearn will quickly discover that slamming Zuffa is not enough to make the numbers work.

Hearn cannot afford those numbers, and he knows it. Back when Shakur first bolted to Zuffa, Hearn called those eight-figure payouts business suicide. Now that Zuffa choked on the tab and cut him loose, Hearn smells blood in the water. Flattering Shakur costs nothing in an interview, but signing the contract is an entirely different matter.

Nobody in the sport is coughing up fifteen million for Shakur to fight routine opposition. He does not sell pay-per-views, and his defensive, safety-first style has never generated the kind of gate revenue that justifies that scale of compensation. Bob Arum saw the ceiling early, let him walk, and Zuffa just hit the exact same brick wall within months.

Hearn is angling for a massive reality check on Shakur’s side. Matchroom can offer a steady platform on DAZNbut the only way Hearn signs him is if Shakur swallows a steep pay cut for standard defense fights and accepts that eight-figure paydays are strictly reserved for the rare mega-event like Devin Haney or Gervonta Davis.

If Shakur insists that fifteen million is his floor just to step through the ropes against anyone, Hearn will talk a great game for the cameras while quietly letting someone else hold the bag.