Former WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney is truly in boxing limbo, as he tries to land a fight contract. You see, it was recently reported that a bout between Haney and WBO super lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez was all but finalized, with both parties signing the dotted line for a clash on August 16th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, there’s a problem.

The report from Boxing Scene confirming the Haney-Lopez fight indicated that it would take place at a catchweight of 145 pounds and would require random drug testing by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA). But Mike Coppinger of Ring Magazine has now revealed that the fight is no longer happening, as the talks between the two camps have collapsed.

Coppinger claimed, “Negotiations have collapsed for a proposed fight between Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez on Aug. 16 in Riyadh, @ringmagazine has learned. Haney and Teofimo both scored wide-decision wins on May 2 in Times Square.” Lopez had previously revealed in an interview with Punsh Drunk Boxing that he was offered $11 million for the fight.

“So the financial stuff is there. I’m not going to sell my soul for 11 million dollars,” Lopez said. However, according to a statement Haney issued to The Ring, Lopez had never signed the contract, and criticized the 27-year-old for ducking a fight against him. “I did my part. We waited for days for Teo to sign his part of the contract, and he came out and said this isn’t a fight he wants to make,” Haney said.

He later added, “Teo is a f***ing duck. No promoter should work with Teo because he wasted everybody’s time.” Regardless, with Lopez out of the picture, ‘The Dream’ will have to deal with another headache in the shape of a fight contract, as someone else has thrown their name into the hat for a fight against Haney. Who?

When The Ring shared Haney’s statement on Instagram via post, former interim WBO super lightweight champion Arnold Barboza Jr. claimed he would be down to fight Haney. “@realdevinhaney don’t trip. Send me a contract, we can get it on August,” Barboza Jr. wrote. The 33-year-old is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Lopez on May 2nd, where Haney defeated Jose Ramirez in a lackluster showing.

While Barboza Jr.’s loss to Lopez has made him desperate for a major showdown with Devin Haney, someone else believes Lopez made the smarter move by avoiding the fight.

Oscar De La Hoya insults Devin Haney after the Teofimo Lopez fight collapsed

Haney, who has been heavily criticized for his performance against Jose Ramirez, obviously wasn’t happy about Lopez backing out of the fight. So, he took his frustration to X, where he put Lopez on blast. “The fight with Teo is not signed! I signed my part & Teo has been stalling. As of today, he has decided he doesn’t wanna fight me, he is officially the biggest [duck],” Haney wrote.

This prompted Golden Boy Promotions head honcho Oscar De La Hoya to give Haney a reality check, as he praised ‘The Takeover’ for making a smart decision. “Devin Haney is calling Teo a duck??? More like Teo is SMART to not fight a runner who has less fans than Diddy does,” Oscar wrote back. With Haney’s options to match against S-tier fighters running dry, he might have to settle for a smaller paycheck to fight a less-than-elite opponent.

That said, it appears Devin Haney will remain on the sidelines for now, as Teofimo Lopez has backed out of the fight, unless Haney is ready to fight the guy Lopez defeated so convincingly. What do you think the future holds for ‘The Dream’?