Nov. 28 Penciled, Pen Not on Paper: Inside the Haney–Stevenson Holdup

REPORTED · Rumor-Meter: WARM 🟠

Darlings, I've carried a lot of ringcards, but this is the first one with a date written in pencil. Here are the facts first, then the fun.

What's actually on the table. Bill Haney, Devin's father and trainer, put a date and a city out there on the Tru Media podcast: "There has been a challenge to their team to take the fight at 145 and take it on the 28th of November in Atlanta," adding, "The offer is on the table for him to fight in November." (The Ring)

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The weight war (mostly) ended. The Ring reports that Stevenson wanted 144 lbs plus a 10-lb next-day rehydration clause. Haney countered with 145 and no clause, and Stevenson agreed. (The Ring) Devin made his pitch on X: "Let's do this 145 no rehydration clause … December, 2026. Somebody go wake Shakur up. Tell him we got a deal." (boxingnews.com, Oct 7) Note that his post said December, and Bill's date is November. Somebody check the calendar, boys. One outlet even quotes Bill as saying "145 and a half." (BoxingNews24, Oct 8)

So what's the holdup?

1. No signatures, no announcement. As of today, nothing official has been announced. (Fightnews, Oct 12)

2. Two different TV homes. Stevenson has a promotional deal with Zuffa Boxing, while Haney is exclusive with DAZN. Bill says DAZN has made an offer, but the platform question is still open. (rg.org; BoxingNews24)

3. The date belongs to Bill, not Shakur. I haven't seen any public acceptance of Nov 28 from Team Stevenson. BoxingNews24's analysis suggests Shakur may push for a later date rather than work to the Haney timetable. That's their read, not a report.

Update, Oct 12: Bill's on the timeline. 📱 With nothing signed yet, Bill Haney posted two apparent jabs on X today. He doesn't name Stevenson or anyone else in either one. First, at 8:13 AM PT: "Bro nem quiet as church mouse's again… 🤦🏽" (@BillHaney77). Then, at 11:02 AM PT: "Y'all picking HIM. Motivating HIM. Training HIM. Helping HIM. Capping for HIM… And HIM & his whole team still don't believe none of that s**t. 🫵😂" (@BillHaney77; expletive masked by us). Who's "HIM"? Bill isn't saying, and we're not guessing. Either way, the contract is still unsigned.

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Whisperer's take: The weight is agreed, a date is floated and money is on the table. That's a lot of smoke. But with no signatures and no network deal, this card stays firmly WARM. If both camps sign before Halloween, I'll flip it to HOT myself.

🗳️ Fight Predictions poll

If Haney vs. Stevenson happens at 145, who gets their hand raised?

• Devin Haney by decision
• Devin Haney by stoppage
• Shakur Stevenson by decision
• Shakur Stevenson by stoppage
• It won't happen in 2026

Whisper Update, Oct. 15, night: the deal blows up on X. 💥

RUMOR (both fighters on the record, nothing official). The weight that was "agreed" isn't any more, depending on who you ask. At 7:40 PM PT, Shakur Stevenson posted (x.com): "At the 11th hour, after agreeing to 144 and then 145, DeeHoe had his lawyer email and say that he would only fight at 147. Big waste of everybody's time."

Just over an hour later, at 8:46 PM PT, Devin Haney quote-posted it (x.com): "You're cap.. I agreed to 145 u went missing for days. Tried to put a rehydration clause on me. I wasted 6 months negotiating with you.."

So it's 147 versus a rehydration clause, and two very different stories. Nobody has published the lawyer's email or the clause. Boxing News 24 (boxingnews24.com) notes that Haney's post doesn't respond to the 147 claim directly.

How we got here. On Oct. 12, The Ring's Mike Coppinger said the holdup was "Money mostly but I believe it will get done" (x.com). On Oct. 15 he reported the fight "is facing obstacles" and that talks were "reaching a critical stage to keep this fight alive" (x.com). And Dana White, asked about Nov. 28, said: "If it was, I would have announced it" (via Boxing247: boxing247.com).

Rumor-Meter update (Oct. 15)

• Nov. 28 in Atlanta: COLD. 🧊
• Haney vs. Stevenson happens later: WARM. Two of boxing's loudest rivals still want each other, but there's nothing signed and the weight is back in dispute.

Whisper Update, Oct. 16: Shakur's "moving on," and Haney's eyeing Paro. 🔀

RUMOR (officials, unnamed). BoxingScene's Lance Pugmire reports (boxingscene.com) that Shakur Stevenson is "moving on" from talks with Devin Haney, according to "an individual familiar with the negotiations." One official monitoring the talks says Haney will move on to a welterweight unification with IBF champion Liam Paro at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Haney has a hold on the building for Nov. 28, and BoxingScene's officials say Brian Norman Jr. and Tiger Johnson are penciled in on separate support bouts. (BoxingScene on X: x.com)

The Stevenson side's version. One official told BoxingScene they "agreed to everything [the Haney side] wanted – 145, no rehydration clause and they agreed too – and then at the last minute they changed the weight to 147 last night." The same official then took a profane personal shot at Bill Haney and accused Devin of being afraid of the fight. We're not printing that one. BoxingScene floats Raymond Muratalla, the WBO's No. 1 at 140, as an option for Shakur.

Paro's verdict. Before the pivot news, Paro called the whole saga embarrassing. As quoted by Boxing News 24 (boxingnews24.com), which doesn't name the original outlet: "These guys obviously don't really want to fight each other. There's always some little problems that's not making it happen. And in a way, it's a bit embarrassing." And on Shakur: "fight him at 147, then call yourself a true 147 champion."

Nothing is signed or announced: not Haney-Paro, and not anything for Shakur.

Rumor-Meter update (Oct. 16)

• Haney vs. Paro on Nov. 28 in Atlanta: WARM (RUMOR). There's a building hold and officials are talking, but there's no announcement.
• Haney vs. Stevenson ever: COLD. 🧊

Haney-Paro, or should Shakur and Devin still settle it? Drop your take in the Boxbid community. 👀

You didn't hear it from me… 🤫

Sources

• The Ring
• boxingnews.com (Oct 7, 2026)
• BoxingNews24 (Oct 8, 2026)
• Fightnews (Oct 12, 2026)
• rg.org
• Bill Haney on X (Oct 12, 2026, 15:13 UTC)
• Bill Haney on X (Oct 12, 2026, 18:02 UTC)
• Shakur Stevenson on X (Oct 15, 2026)
• Devin Haney on X (Oct 15, 2026)
• Boxing News 24 (Oct 15, 2026)
• Mike Coppinger on X (Oct 12, 2026)
• Mike Coppinger on X (Oct 15, 2026)
• Boxing247 (Oct 13, 2026)
• BoxingScene, Lance Pugmire (Oct 16, 2026)
• BoxingScene on X (Oct 16, 2026)
• Boxing News 24 (Oct 16, 2026), Paro