Haney thinks that’ll display he is on a different level en route to becoming a unified champion. Haney and Paro will fight for Haney’s WBO welterweight title and Paro’s IBF belt at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Their 12-round bout will be the first of Haney’s multi-fight deal with DAZN, which will stream the card globally.

“I’m levels above him,” Haney said Tuesday in San Francisco at the press conference to formally announce the fight. “I’m levels above those guys that he’s been in the ring with, that he’s beaten, that he’s lost to, and I must show him on December 19th that Devin Haney is a special fighter. Like I told Brian Norman, like I’m telling him, I am a special fighter, and I will show the world on December 19th.”

Haney (33-0, 15 KOs, 1 NC), The Ring’s No. 1-ranked welterweight contender for its vacant title and No. 8 fighter pound-for-pound, won the WBO title via a unanimous decision over Brian Norman Jr. on November 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The win made the 27-year-old San Francisco native a three-division champion.

Haney became the undisputed lightweight champion when he outpointed George Kambosos in June 2022. He later moved up to 140 pounds and won a dominant unanimous decision over Regis Prograis in December 2023 to become the WBC champion at the same venue where he’ll face Paro.

Paro and Haney addressed the numerous rounds they’ve shared in sparring, though neither dove into much detail about what transpired inside the ring. In what was largely a respectful and mundane press conference, the most contentious moment came when Haney took issue with Paro comparing him to Richardson Hitchins and discussing what took place in his bout against WBC welterweight titleholder Ryan Garcia.

Garcia (26-2, 21 KOs, 1 NC), The Ring’s No. 2 welterweight contender, won his bout against Haney by majority decision in April 2024. The result was later changed to a no-contest after Garcia, 28, failed multiple VADA drug tests for the performance-enhancing drug Ostarine.

Paro feels Hitchins, who outpointed Paro by split decision in December 2024, has aspects of his game that are better than Haney’s and vice versa.

“I must make him pay for that,” Haney said. “Liam Paro has said things about Richardson Hitchings and Ryan Garcia, and I must show him that I’m a different animal. It’s different under those lights. I’m a different fighter.”

Paro (28-1, 16 KOs), a two-division titleholder, won the IBF welterweight title thanks to a unanimous-decision victory over Lewis Crocker on June 24 in Tennyson, Australia.

The 30-year-old Australian southpaw became the IBF 140-pound champion when he went into enemy territory and upset Subriel Matias by unanimous decision in June 2024 in Matias’ native Puerto Rico. He lost that title to Hitchins in his following fight, almost six months later.

Landing the bout with Paro concluded a long, winding road for Haney to find his next opponent. He was in discussions to face The Ring and WBO 140-pound champion Shakur Stevenson and Keyshawn Davis, but both fights fell through.

Paro thinks Haney was pursuing “an easier fight with a bigger name,” before opting to face him.

Haney pushed back on that notion, saying the way negotiations played out with Davis and Stevenson, ranked No. 3 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list, ultimately led him to Paro.

“I wanted to fight the biggest [and] best fighters in the world,” Haney said. “That’s just simply what it is. I never go for easy challenges. I never go for easy fights. I want to fight the best fighters in the world because I believe I’m the best fighter in the world. It didn't work out with Shakur. It didn’t work out with Keyshawn [and] Liam Paro was next on the list.”