Just two days ago, on ‘Thaboxingvoice,‘ Bill Haney made it explicit: “We got a hit list right now, and let me get back to the hit list. Uh, I mean, you got Teofimo Lopez on it.” Lopez doesn’t top the list. However, the light welterweight champion is ostensibly one of the options for Devin Haney‘s next outing. But, given what boxing insider Rick Glaser shared, one is forced to think whether it’s just smoke and mirrors.

So understandably upset, questioning the claims, Devin Haney has fired a blistering retort. The former undisputed champion is on a roll. After a year-long break that followed the controversial fight with Ryan Garcia, Haney scored a convincing victory over former unified champion Jose Ramirez three weeks ago. What makes his win so intriguing is that on the same card, Garcia suffered a loss to Rolando Romero. So with the possibility of a rematch with Garcia now appearing dim, talks about Haney’s potential opponent have been making headway. Teofimo Lopez is one of the likely frontrunners.

Devin Haney: Just baseless noise

“WOW, all facts, not boxing rumors,” stated Glaser right at the outset. So first it was Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ turn. “Boots Ennis is now totally ducking Teofimo Lopez,” said the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame (NYSBHOF) inductee. But on the same token, he added, Haney had been seeking a very large payday to fight Teofimo Lopez: “Devin Haney wants insane money to face Teo.” According to Glaser, even if Haney still held the WBC junior welterweight (140 lbs.) title, his asking price appeared too unrealistic. “Money that wouldn’t even be printable if Haney was still WBC 140 Champ, as that’s really Haney ducking Teofimo!” Rick Glaser stated before concluding, “They’re all ducking @TeofimoLopez!”

So his bottom-line claim goes like this: Haney could be using a high financial demand as an excuse not to fight Teofimo Lopez. However, it didn’t take much time before Devin Haney responded. Tearing apart the baseless claim, the former world champion said, “This f**king guy don’t know what he’s talking about.”

At this point, the discourse may spiral into speculation, with claims and counterclaims trading places. Some fans might recall that a few months ago, Teofimo Lopez also mentioned extending an offer to Haney.

Reverberations from another time

Last November, talks emerged after Lopez revealed that he had reportedly extended fight contracts to Devin Haney and George Kambosos. In fact, parallel reports suggested Team Haney supposedly aiming for a big showdown with Lopez in 2025. So amid this swirl of conflicting reports, through social media Lopez updated that he had reportedly made a $2.4 million-plus pay-per-view revenue split offer to Devin Haney.

“We sent reasonable offers to fight to both Team Haney and Team Kambosos. Both have declined!” he tweeted. Later, when a user asked for the specifics, he added, “$2.4M guaranteed & 55/45 split on PPV shares.” During an interview, he shared that since negotiations were going on, he was required to maintain ‘radio silence.’

“We offered them a good, reasonable offer: 2.4 guaranteed and then, uh, a 55/45 split on pay-per-view at the Crypto Center at the Staples Center in LA,” he told ‘Little Giant Boxing‘ at the time. However, despite waiting for a week, Team Haney never responded, Teofimo Lopez claimed.

With Rick Glaser’s latest post, the discussion is wide open once again – what’s true and what’s not.

What’s your take from Glaser’s tweet?