Could Haney get around the IBF's rehydration rule for the Paro fight?

Promoter Eddie Hearn mentioned in an interview that Devin Haney's possible fight against IBF light welterweight champion Liam Paro on December 7 could be a unification fight.

Champion at halftime: A real title?

Hearn believes that Haney's fight with Paro would be a unification since he is the WBC's 140-weight recess champion, even if Devin would not hold the full belt.

More importantly, because the fight is a unification, Haney would be exempt from the IBF's 10-pound rehydration rule. This would allow him to fully rehydrate overnight after Friday's weigh-in and potentially weigh over 160 pounds, which would be well over the IBF's 10-pound limits.

Circumventing the rehydration rule

This would allow Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) to bypass the IBF's 10-pound rehydration rule, which would make it virtually impossible for Haney to fight Hearn-promoted Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) for his IBF belt.

“He is [Haney] on hiatus with the WBC, so it's a unification/regaining of a title fight,” Hearn told Boxingscene about a fight between WBC “Champion in Recess” Haney and IBF champion Liam Paro in December.

It is unclear whether the “Champion in Recess” position is considered a real title that can be used for unification fights. The WBC “Champion in Recess” title is intended to mean that former champions can skip the queue and fight for their old titles.

The WBC didn't create him to give former champions for unification fights, and certainly not to help them get around the IBF's 10-pound rehydration rule. It would be considered underhanded if Haney tried to use the WBC champion on the break for that purpose.

“Liam Paro is real. It's not an easy comeback fight for Haney since he suffered a tough loss to Ryan Garcia,” Chris Algieri said on Probox TV's YouTube channel about the potential fight between Devin Haney and Liam Paro on December 7 in Australia.

“Paro has been in top form recently. He moves well and seems to have a pretty good shot. He is unbeaten and benefits a lot from his momentum, which is what I would consider in terms of momentum.

“It's an interesting fight. If you want to make a lot of money, you have to fight top fighters and this would be a tough fight and an opportunity to fight for another world title. I think the fight makes sense, but it's certainly a tough fight after a loss,” Algieri said of Haney.