After twelve rounds with Devin Haney, Regis Prograis considered how his former rival might fare against Shakur Stevenson.

Both Stevenson and Haney have recently been linked to a move to Zuffa Boxingand the constant back-and-forth, the pound-for-pound battle between the two US operators appears to be getting closer, even despite the weight difference between them.

Stevenson has only fought once at super lightweight – that was a stellar win over Teofimo Lopez – and he could probably move back to lightweight again. On the other hand, Haney is now a welterweight and his days of performing under the 147-pound limit may be over.

I’m talking to Boxing in Mill CityPrograis – whom Haney knocked down and defeated on the cards in 2023 – said that despite feeling his former opponent was “too gigantic” for the fight, he was still close to Stevenson’s victory.

“I don’t think they will fight because Haney is too gigantic. I’m not saying Shakur is a little boy, but Shakur is petite compared to Devin.

“They really have a similar style, Devin is just a bigger version. Shakur is left-handed, I think he has a little more skill in my case. But if they fought, I would still say Shakur, just because of the left-handed style. It will be close. No one will knock the other out, it would just be a boxing match. I don’t think anyone would get hurt. I don’t think it would be that invigorating. I’m betting on Shakur, but if Devin wins or draws, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Stevenson has proposed either a catchweight of 144 pounds or 147 pounds with a rehydration clause, but Haney intends not to give the smaller fighter any advantage and will apparently only take the fight at welterweight without any reservations. This condition could be the basis for an all-American superfight.

With two world titles already under his belt, attention turned to potential matchups with some of the biggest names in the sport.

Jose Benavidez Sr. says his team has already attempted to start the discussion.

“Nobody. Nobody. Nobody. I also reached out to Beterbiev’s people,” Benavidez Sr. said in an interview with MillCity Boxing. “You know, I’ll tell you, before we fought Anthony Yard, right? We’re supposed to fight Bivol. What is Bivol doing? Just give us the belt back. We didn’t want it to turn out like this.

“So then we contacted Beterbiev. He didn’t want to take the fight either. That’s why we took Anthony Yarde straight away. I thought maybe after Anthony Yarde, these guys don’t want to fight. Excuses after excuses, but when they’re on social media or anywhere else, they’re like, ‘Let’s do it.’ Let’s do it, brother.”

“It’s only them who are preventing these fights from being organized. We want these fights and we told you we want these fights. So Beterbiev, Bivol, let’s make it happen.”

Bivol and Beterbiev remain linked to a potential third fight after splitting in their first two meetings. The possibility of a trilogy continued to loom over the lithe heavyweight division as Benavidez moved up and established himself in the cruiserweight division.

Benavidez Sr. also addressed comments from members of Bivol’s camp, saying his team was only showing respect by continuing to fight.

“If Father Bivol is watching this, stop talking. You say you want to silence this guy, let’s do it. Let’s go, brother,” Jose Sr. said. “With all due respect, he’s a great coach. Bivol is a great fighter. But let’s stop talking. Let’s make these fights happen.

“We want to fight your son, brother. What’s wrong with that? In all my interviews, if you see David’s interviews, we give this guy flowers. He’s a great fighter. He’s a risky fighter. Why are you enraged because we’re calling you out? It doesn’t make sense.”

During the interview, Benavidez Sr. also mentioned WBC cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian and reiterated that his son is willing to stay energetic while waiting for an opportunity to fight Bivol or Beterbiev.

Artur Beterbiev has not fought since losing his undisputed lightweight heavyweight world title in a rematch with Dmitry Bivol last February. He has now revealed that he has agreed to fight David Benavidez until the latter’s team changes its mind.

Beterbiev became the first undisputed lightweight heavyweight champion of the four-belt era when he overtook Bivol in October 2024but the tables were turned in a rematch four months later when Bivol took the throne.

The pair have since been linked into a trilogy, but many boxing fans are more interested in the fight between Bivol and Benavidez, who currently holds the WBC lightweight heavyweight title and the unified cruiserweight world title.

However, following a recent order from the WBO, it appears that Bivol may fight Liverpool’s Callum Smith instead if he wants to retain the belt before he can move on to a fight with Benavidez or Beterbiev.

As a result, there are suggestions that Benavidez and Beterbiev could meet, with the winner moving on to an undisputed clash with Bivol.

In an interview with Match TVBeterbiev said Benavidez’s team recently rejected the fight, despite previously agreeing to the fight following “The Mexican Monster’s” victory over Anthony Yard in November.

“Benavidez is the kind of person who talks much more than he says. But it must be admitted that it is conducted very competently. He is already world champion in three weight categories, but his boxing is muddy and of course there are questions about some of his victories.

“He had a fight with Anthony Yard and after that fight I agreed to go out with him. Apparently his team didn’t expect me to agree so quickly, so they immediately changed their mind and chose [Zurdo] Ramirez.

“It was a year ago, it has become the norm in boxing – I will box, I won’t, I will choose my opponents – I like this one, I don’t like that one. I have a different mentality – it is foreign to me.”

At 41, Beterbiev is still training, hoping to challenge Bivol for a third time and cement himself as the winner of a trilogy that will be remembered for generations to come.