Tale of the Tape: Devin Haney vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko
We look at how Devin Haney, the undisputed lightweight champion of the world, stacks up against former titleholder Vasiliy Lomachenko ahead of their upcoming fight Saturday in Las Vegas. Odds courtesy theScore Bet and Barstool Sportsbook.
Haney returns to the ring for the first time since he defended the undisputed lightweight crown by dominating his two-fight series in Australia against George Kambosos Jr. In front of him now stands one of the finest boxers of this generation: pound-for-pound great Lomachenko.
The bout is being hyped as one of the biggest the lightweight division has ever seen, with Haney predicting he'll retire the 35-year-old Lomachenko from the sport forever.
"Loma made me wait four years to fight him. I'm upset. I don't like him. I want to beat him bad. I want to send him into retirement," Haney said during an episode of Top Rank's "Blood Sweat & Tears."
The 24-year-old Haney, who's the youngest undisputed champion of all time, brings an undefeated record to the table. On top of his consecutive wins over Kambosos, "The Dream" has scored unanimous decision victories over stiff competition in Yuriorkis Gamboa, Jorge Linares, and Joseph Diaz Jr. since 2020.
Meanwhile, Loma has looked crisp in three fights since losing his titles to Teofimo Lopez three years ago, defeating Masayoshi Nakatani, Richard Commey, and Jamaine Ortiz with ease. However, none of those fighters possesses Haney's boxing skill or ring IQ.
"Lomachenko has never been an underdog, this is the first time," Haney said. "This time, he's fighting a bigger guy, a strong guy, faster guy, younger guy."
He added: "All odds are stacked against him, and on May 20, I will show the world why. Whatever he brings on fight night, it won't be enough. I'm going to make him look average, I'm going to make him look ordinary. I'm going to embarrass him, and he won't be the same."
Boxing fans tuning in hoping to witness a knockout should temper their expectations. This one will likely go the distance, even if promoters are hyping the fight by calling it an all-out war.
Haney is an elusive, tactical ring general who loves to go the distance. While this strategy has led to questions about his punching power, the California native has never shied away from utilizing his crisp jab to rack up points and impress judges en route to decisive wins. In fact, he hasn't won a fight by anything but a unanimous decision since Zaur Abdullaev's corner stopped their 2019 bout against Haney following the fourth round.
Lomachenko is a brilliant ring technician in his own right. Despite his knockout ability, he's gone the distance in four of his last five fights, although his match against Commey should've probably been stopped before going to the cards.
In this generation of boxing, becoming the undisputed champion is difficult. Only three of the men's 17 divisions feature titleholders with all of the belts. The winner of Saturday's fight will be one of them, making this highly anticipated match that much more captivating.
It's for all the marbles - only one fighter will have his hand held high while all of the belts are wrapped around his waist. On Saturday, the true champion of the lightweight division will be crowned.