Haney vs. Paro title unification set for December 19 in SF

Devin Haney and Liam Paro will meet on Dec. 19 at Chase Center in San Francisco for a two-belt welterweight unification bout.

The fight matches Haney's WBO title against Paro's IBF belt.

Haney, 33-0 with 15 knockouts, returns to the ring for the first time since his unanimous decision win over Brian Norman Jr. on Nov. 22, 2025.

The 27-year-old from Oakland has been out of action for over a year.

Negotiations for a fight with unbeaten four-division champion Shakur Stevenson fell through.

Haney then shifted focus to Paro, who had been in talks to fight on the Dec. 13 card headlined by Erislandy Lara vs. Tim Tszyu in Australia.

Top Rank President Todd duBoef confirmed the matchup in a news release.

"The historically prestigious welterweight division is heating up, and it all starts on Dec. 19 in San Francisco when Devin Haney and Liam Paro unify their titles," duBoef said.

"It is a pleasure to be reunited with Team Haney after orchestrating his successful bid for the undisputed lightweight championship in 2022."

DuBoef added that Paro is "no stranger to winning on the road, having broken the hearts of Puerto Rican fans when he upset Subriel Matias for his super lightweight crown."

"This is a terrific matchup with massive stakes," he said.

The card will be streamed on DAZN, marking Haney's debut on the platform.

Haney called the fight a homecoming.

"My resume speaks for itself. I've never been afraid to go into a champion's backyard and put my record on the line," Haney said in a prepared statement.

"I went to Australia, took George Kambosos' belts and became undisputed lightweight champion of the world."

"Now I'm bringing another Australian world champion, Liam Paro, into my backyard."

"This time, I plan to take his belt and become a unified welterweight world champion right here at home."

"Oakland is where my story started, and the Bay Area has always been part of who I am."

Haney won the undisputed lightweight championship by beating Kambosos twice in Australia in 2022.

He later moved up to super lightweight and stopped Regis Prograis at Chase Center in December 2023.

He then won the WBO welterweight title by defeating Norman in November 2025.

Paro enters the fight with a 28-1 record.

The 28-year-old southpaw from Mackay, Queensland, made Australian boxing history in June when he beat Lewis Crocker for the IBF welterweight world title.

That win made Paro a two-division world champion, joining Jeff Fenech and Danny Green as Australian multiple-division titleholders.

Paro first shocked the boxing world in June 2024 when he traveled to Puerto Rico and stopped Subriel Matias to win the super lightweight title.

He then moved up to welterweight and defeated Crocker.

Paro said he has never taken the easy road.

"Three years ago, I was on the undercard at Chase Center the night Devin fought Regis Prograis," Paro said.

"I said back then that Haney versus Paro rolls off the tongue. Now it's here. Champion versus champion, two belts on the line, in his backyard."

"I've never taken the easy road."

"I went to Puerto Rico and took the title off Matias in front of his own people."

"Devin's a great fighter and I respect that. But I've been the underdog plenty of times and I've made history before."

"I'm coming to unify the division and make more history."

The co-main event features former welterweight titleholder Brian Norman Jr. against ex-welterweight title challenger Abel Ramos.

The card is also expected to include unbeaten welterweight and 2024 U.S. Olympian Tiger Johnson.

Haney's father-trainer-manager, Bill Haney, is already looking beyond the Paro fight.

Bill Haney is targeting an undisputed welterweight reign.

Fellow champions Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez Jr. have negotiated their own unification bout for Feb. 6, 2027, in Las Vegas.

A Haney victory over Paro would put him in position to face the winner of that fight.

"We made championship history at Chase Center at 140 pounds," Bill Haney said of the Prograis win.

"Now we're returning at 147 for another opportunity to make history, looking to build on that success and deliver a memorable night of world-class boxing for the Bay Area."

The winner of Haney-Paro will hold two of the four major welterweight titles.

The WBC belt is held by Mario Barrios.

The WBA belt is held by Eimantas Stanionis.

Garcia and Lopez are scheduled to fight for the WBC and WBA belts in February.

The welterweight division has not had an undisputed champion since Terence Crawford stopped Errol Spence Jr. in July 2023.

Crawford later moved up to junior middleweight.

Haney has won world titles in three weight classes: lightweight, super lightweight and welterweight.

Paro has won titles at super lightweight and welterweight.

Both fighters are in their primes at age 27 and 28.

The fight takes place less than two weeks before Christmas.

Tickets for the event are expected to go on sale soon through Ticketmaster.

The venue, Chase Center, opened in 2019 and is the home of the NBA's Golden State Warriors.

It has a capacity of approximately 18,000 for boxing events.

Haney has fought at Chase Center once before, stopping Prograis in December 2023.

Paro fought on the undercard of that same event.

The Dec. 19 date places the fight on a Saturday night in the United States.

In Australia, the fight will take place on Sunday, Dec. 20, due to the time difference.

This is the second major welterweight unification fight scheduled for the coming months.

The Garcia-Lopez fight on Feb. 6 would create a second pair of unified champions.

If both fights produce clear winners, the stage could be set for a four-belt unification in 2027.

Haney's move to DAZN ends his previous streaming arrangement with ESPN.

The financial terms of the new deal have not been disclosed.

Haney turned professional at age 17 and quickly rose through the ranks.

He became the youngest world champion in boxing at age 20 when he won the WBC lightweight title in 2019.

He was later elevated to full champion status and made multiple defenses before facing Kambosos.

Paro turned professional in 2016 and built his record mostly in Australia before breaking through internationally against Matias.

The Crocker fight in June was Paro's first defense of the IBF welterweight title.

Both fighters have expressed confidence heading into the bout.

Haney pointed to his record of fighting champions on their home turf.

Paro pointed to his history of winning as the underdog on the road.

The fight represents a rare unification bout at welterweight, a division that has seen champions avoid each other in recent years.

Top Rank and DAZN are expected to launch a promotional tour in the coming weeks.

Press conferences are likely in San Francisco and possibly Australia.

The bout is expected to draw significant interest from the Bay Area's large Filipino-American community, given Paro's Australian-Filipino heritage.

Haney has a strong following in the Bay Area, where he began boxing as a child.

The fight card is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Pacific Time on Dec. 19.

The main event ring walks are expected around 10 p.m. Pacific.

This will be the first major boxing event at Chase Center since Haney-Prograis in 2023.

The venue has also hosted UFC events.

The Haney-Paro winner will hold two belts and control the timeline for undisputed.

If Haney wins, he will have unified titles in two weight classes.

If Paro wins, he will have defeated a three-division champion in his opponent's hometown.

Both scenarios carry significant implications for the welterweight division's hierarchy.

The Dec. 19 date also avoids a direct conflict with the Dec. 13 Lara-Tszyu card in Australia.

Paro had been linked to that card before the Haney deal was finalized.

The fight was officially announced on Nov. 5, 2026, six weeks before the event.

That timeline gives both camps adequate time for training camps and travel arrangements.

Haney is expected to train in the Bay Area or Las Vegas.

Paro is expected to train in Australia before traveling to the United States.

The fight is scheduled for 12 rounds at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds.

Both fighters are expected to weigh in on Dec. 18.

The official judges and referee have not yet been announced.

The bout will be overseen by the California State Athletic Commission.

The commission has a strong reputation for enforcing clean boxing regulations.

Both fighters will be subject to random drug testing through the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.

The Haney-Paro fight represents the latest chapter in a growing trend of cross-promotional unification bouts.

Top Rank and DAZN are co-promoting the event.

Haney is promoted by Top Rank.