Devin Haney’s controversial lightweight title is generating a lot of debate and forcing him to take care of some mandatory business before he can really challenge Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Haney, who talked about Lomachenko before his so-so performance in a decision over Alfredo Santiago on Saturday, has been ordered to make a mandatory defense of his title against Javier Fortuna.
The 20-year-old Haney (24-0, 15 knockouts), boxing’s youngest champion, was given the WBC 135-pound belt when the sanctioning body named Lomachenko its “franchise champion” last month. As an interim champion, Haney had been in line for a possible bout with Lomachenko, the leading pound-for-pound contender.
Fortuna (35-2-1, 24 KOs), a Dominican living in Massachusetts, is a former champion who became a mandatory challenger with a second-round stoppage of Jesus Cuellar on Nov. 2 at Oxon Hill, Maryland.
If an agreement can’t be reached, a purse bid for Haney-Fortuna is scheduled for Dec. 13.
Before his victory over Santiago in a sloppy fight in Los Angeles, Haney talked about Lomachenko.
“I do see flaws in him,’’ Haney told Sky Sports. “One deciding factor – my jab. I feel like I’ve got the best jab in the game and my jab separates me from everyone. Being honest, I haven’t played the fight out in my head because the fight hasn’t been set in stone. It doesn’t look like it’s going to be made next.”