The new year has begun with one less WBA belt in existence.

Devin Haney was formally removed as WBA ‘Super’ lightweight champion in the sanctioning body’s latest ratings update which published Tuesday. Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis is now the sole recognized WBA titleholder at the weight, having previously held WBA ‘Regular’ status.

The move was expected, when Haney (31-0, 15KOs) declared in late November that he was prepared to abandon his unified lightweight championship to fully compete at junior welterweight. The announcement was made prior to his WBC 140-pound title win over Regis Prograis. Haney delivered a tour-de-force performance atop a December 9 DAZN Pay-Per-View event from Chase Center in his birth town of San Francisco, California.

Despite his prior declaration, Haney was still the recognized WBA ‘Super’ lightweight champion as of the December 1 WBA rankings and headed into his fight versus Prograis.

Baltimore’s Davis (29-0, 27KOs) has yet to publicly comment on his newfound status as full titleholder. The only recent round of news involving the two-division titlist and boxing superstar was his recent conversion to Islam and that he chose the name Abdul Wahid (“Servant of The One”) upon his acceptance of Allah.

Monday’s development barely changes things for Davis, whose current title reign dates back to a December 2019 twelfth-round knockout of Yuriorkis Gamboa. The only real change is the absence of a primary title ahead of his belt, which means he is free to further unify the division if that is the road he chooses to travel. The only other active lightweight titlist is Shakur Stevenson, who claimed the vacant WBC belt in a twelve-round, unanimous decision win over Edwin De Los Santos last November 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The IBF and WBO belts are both currently vacant. The IBF belt will iikely be at stake in a proposed Vasiliy Lomachenko-George Kambosos fight targeted for this spring. Denis Berinchyk would then become the leading candidate to fight for the vacant WBO title versus an opponent to be determined.

Davis has not fought since a seventh-round knockout of Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20KOs) last April 22 at T-Mobile Arena. The bout was fought at a 136-pound catchweight in a non-title fight, with Davis’ WBA title not at stake.

It mattered little to the masses; the fight sold a reported 1.2 million pay-per-view units and generated an estimated $22.8 million live gate atop a Showtime Pay-Per-View that served as the highest grossing event of 2023.

Davis last defended his WBA title in a stoppage win over previously unbeaten WBA junior lightweight titlist Hector Garcia after nine rounds. Garcia (no relation to Ryan) moved up in weight to unsuccessfully challenge Davis last January 6 at MCI Center in Washington, D.C.

No decision was yet made by the WBA as to whether Davis will be ordered to make a mandatory title defense; his last such obligation came in a May 2021 knockout win over then-unbeaten Rolando Romero.

Isaac Cruz and William Zepeda—a pair of contenders from Mexico—are the highest-ranked WBA lightweight contenders. Both have frequently expressed an interest in facing Davis.

Cruz has been teased as a leading candidate to next face Davis. Such a fight would represent a rematch to their December 2021 meeting, won by Davis via unanimous decision which snapped his sixteen-fight knockout streak. Cruz has since won three in a row, including a unanimous decision over Giovanni Cabrera last July 29 in Las Vegas.

Zepeda is due to fight in the first quarter of 2023, though an opponent was not yet identified as this goes to publication. The 27-year-old southpaw earned knockout victories over Jaime Arboleda and Merctio Gesta for his two bouts in 2023.

Gervonta Davis has been accused of running an insurance scam by fans shortly after the bunch of houses he bought spontaneously burned down just days after the purchase.

The undefeated “Tank” Davis acquired the properties in his home neighborhood of Sandtown-Winchester in Baltimore, Maryland and aimed to renovate them into affordable homes to give back to the community where he grew up

But a fire would engulf and damage the building, although firefighters would eventually get it under control. The exact cause of the blaze is not yet known to investigators so naturally theories of an insurance scam flew around social media.

Fans react

One user wrote on Twitter, now known as X, “Insurance money hitting for him he couldn’t even wait a week lol”.

Another commented, “Bro didn’t waste time committing insurance fraud”.

A third said, “Burnt down right after he buys the block?? Very very suspicious. Why people hating on their own kind”.

And a fourth wrote: “It’s always a dirty game when you start making momental moves to change the culture”.

Bob Arum picks three fighters who would beat Davis

Bob Arum is a prominent figure in boxing, renowned as a boxing promoter and the founder of Top Rank and has promoted numerous high-profile boxing matches, representing iconic fighters and playing a pivotal role in the sport’s promotion and business development.

When asked who he thought would beat Gervonta Davis in a fight, he chose Shakur Stevenson, Teofimo Lopez and Vasyl Lomachenko.

“All three I think would beat Davis, I really believe that,” Arum said to TalkSport. “But that’s why they do the fights, they get in the ring to determine who is better.

“I think that he [Gervonta Davis] is the real deal, that’s why we’re talking about him. He is a hell of a performer, a terrific athlete, terrific boxer, but so are the other three guys you mentioned.”

Sometimes, when things are going your way, you can get ahead of yourself. Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela can admit that hubris began seeping into his bloodstream with each highlight-reel-worthy knockout.

Against Edwin De Los Santos in 2022, Valenzuela (13-2, 9 KOs) believed that once he connected, their showdown would be called off. Their matchup didn’t go incredibly long, but with both men hitting the canvas, a jam-packed crowd in the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, stood on their feet, waiting to see what would happen next.

In the third, it was Valenzuela who was on the wrong end of a brutal round, forcing referee Ray Corona to call things off. Just a few months later, he hit rock bottom, losing a controversial decision to Chris Colbert.

The 24-year-old had some serious soul-searching to do. Once he looked in the mirror and realized that he needed to improve, the immediate results have been exactly what he was hoping for.

Just a few short weeks ago, Valenzuela found himself standing across the ring from Colbert again. This time around, he dominated him to the tune of a sixth-round stoppage win. The victory was lovely, but the WBA sanctioning body made it sweeter once it was revealed that his showdown against Colbert was an official title eliminator.

Now, with the ball somewhat in his court, Valenzuela is hoping to match up with Gervonta Davis. On numerous occasions, the Mexican native has called out the hard-hitting star. But, in the eyes of fans, his contemporaries, and prognosticators, a showdown with Davis would end horrifically for him.

Valenzuela can hear his critics from a mile away. He doesn’t have a problem with anyone doubting him but to a large extent, there’s a reason why he looked awful against De Los Santos.

“I think people say that because they see the fight with me and Edwin,” said Valenzuela to Fight Hub TV when asked if it bothers him that most aren’t giving him a chance against Davis. “I wasn’t as focused. He taught me a helluva lesson. I wasn’t focused.”

For the most part, just about everyone in the lightweight division wants a piece of Davis. Some of it has to do with Davis being one of boxing’s cash cows. Also, he’s viewed as one of the best fighters in the world.

Putting together a game plan to take Davis down wouldn’t be easy but it’s something Valenzuela believes his team can do. No matter if his corner instructs him to box from the outside or get in close, Valenzuela has a feeling that if he lands on the tip of Davis’ chin, the pound-for-pound star won’t wake up until the following morning.

“If I fought Tank, I would fight him very smart. I would have my feet under me and one thing that you can’t count out is knockout power. I’m a dangerous fighter. I wouldn’t be surprised if I knocked him out.”

Gervonta Davis beat Ryan Garcia conclusively earlier this year, but the latter says an injury played a big part.

‘Tank’ Davis dropped and stopped Garcia in April at a catchweight of 136lbs. In the aftermath, Garcia says he was weight drained and also hinted at an injury.

In an interview with The Last Stand, he confirmed that theory, saying that ‘a separated rib’ from training camp affected his preparation.

Davis caught wind of the comments and took to social media to say it was ‘over’ for his rival.

Garcia is angling for a rematch, but is one division up now, his maiden fight being a catchweight bout with Oscar Duarte.