Catterall: 'Devin Was Never Going to Fight Me'

Jack Catterall has accused Devin Haney of using him as a decoy in negotiations — confirming his suspicions that he was never a genuine target and that Haney-Paro is now back on: "Devin was never going to fight me — it was this all along," Catterall

The saga began when Keyshawn Davis withdrew from his WBO mandatory challenge against Haney after Top Rank won the purse bids, unwilling to accept the $2 million on offer. Haney then turned attention to IBF champion Liam Paro, before that stalled over money — at which point Catterall emerged as the reported next option.

🎟️ Get tickets: Buy tickets to Romero vs Lopez on Ticketmaster →

Catterall's manager Sam Jones had already flagged his concerns publicly, warning on X that his fighter was being used as leverage to drive Paro's asking price down.

"What I hope isn't the case is that Jack is being used as a decoy so that Paro is scared into taking the fight for less money than he's wanting. All I can tell you is we've accepted the fight and the date and location — if the fight doesn't happen, it's not on Jack,” Jones

🎟️ Get tickets: Buy tickets to Romero vs Lopez on Ticketmaster →

Those fears appear to have been well founded. Jones has since confirmed to Boxing News that he believes Haney and Paro have reached an agreement, with October 3rd understood to be the proposed date for the unification fight.

Catterall, meanwhile, is already moving on — positioning himself for a shot at the winner of Rolando Romero vs. Teofimo Lopez for the WBA super title next weekend in Las Vegas.