Stevenson stubbornly held to his demand of 144 pounds during the Haney talks. Under that arrangement, Shakur would have moved up four pounds while Haney came down three from the welterweight limit. He negotiated as though he were the A-side and Haney needed the fight badly enough to accept those terms.
Haney owned the larger following, held the welterweight title and had no obligation to weaken himself. Shakur’s demand also conflicted with his previous willingness to face Conor Benn at the full 147-pound limit. He even offered to accept Benn’s choice of rehydration restrictions during their confrontation in Fe
