“You have the contract. Sign it.”
Stevenson quickly fired back X.
“Shut up your ass and vacate that belt so I can beat your ass,” Shakur said.
The comments appear to refer to the growing complications surrounding Haney’s WBO welterweight title. WBO president Gustavo Olivieri has repeatedly said that Haney’s next commitment is a mandatory defense against top contender Keyshawn Davis.
That mandatory position became a major obstacle to a Haney-Stevenson fight. If Haney goes ahead with a non-title catchweight match against Stevenson instead of facing Keyshawn, he will likely be stripped of the WBO belt.
Shakur previously indicated he was more interested in fighting than preserving the championship stakes. His latest comments suggest he wants Haney to completely remove the WBO issue by vacating the title and moving forward with negotiations.
The two sides have discussed a possible fight for weeks, with much of the public debate centered on weight. Shakur initially indicated he was willing to meet Haney at a 144-pound catchweight before talks were complicated by the WBO’s mandatory requirements.
The situation put Haney in a difficult position. A fight against Stevenson is considered the bigger event by many fans, but the WBO has made it clear that Keyshawn is next in line for a title shot.
The negotiations remain unresolved, but Shakur’s latest post leaves little doubt where he stands. If Haney wants the fight, Shakur believes the simplest solution is to vacate the belt and remove the mandatory challenger from the equation.
