Devin Haney, Liam Paro finalizing welterweight title unification fight for December

Devin Haney will return to his hometown for his first welterweight title unification.WBO champion Haney and IBF titleholder Liam Paro are finalizing a Dec. 19 two-belt unfication clash that will take place at San Francisco's Chase Center.The bout will see Haney return to the venue of his dominant win over Regis Prograis in December 2023, which saw him become a two-division champion. It will also be the first bout of a new multi-fight deal between Haney and streaming service DAZN. Uncrowned broke the news of the agreement in July, and it was made official this past week.Elsewhere in the welterweight division — and despite erroneous reports — WBC champion Ryan Garcia and WBA champion Teofimo Lopez are closing in on a welterweight unification of their own. Whether Lopez's title will be on the line will be decided by the WBA on Nov. 7, because Lopez has an outstanding mandatory due against Jack Catterall.If Haney and Garcia win their bouts, DAZN hopes to stage an undisputed rematch between the pair later in 2027 — which would mark the last fight of Garcia's existing contract with the broadcaster. Several mandatories stand in the way of that, though. Not just Catterall and the WBA, but the IBF mandatory challenger Paddy Donovan. Uncrowned understands that the IBF was set to order Paro to face Donovan on or around Jan. 24, although the Haney unification could now alter that timeline.Haney (33-0, 15 KOs) captured the WBO belt and became a three-division champion by outclassing Brian Norman Jr. this past November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Paro (28-1, 16 KOs) dethroned Lewis Crocker of his IBF title in a closely fought contest in June to become a two-division champion.