Devin Haney vs Vasily Lomachenko: A High Stakes Duel

With the recent confirmation by promoter Bob Arum, boxing fans will have a high-stakes duel to watch on May 20th when American Devin Haney, the undisputed 135-pound champion, and Ukrainian challenger Vasily Lomachenko face each other.

Undefeated in twenty-nine fights, Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) will try to retain the four belts in the lightweight division which he has held since the beginning of June of last year when he defeated George Kambosos Jr. (20-2, 10 KOs) at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.

Haney, owner of the WBC belt, prevailed unanimously over Kambosos Jr., who held the WBA, IBF and WBO belts. Two of the judges scored the fight 116-112 and the other 118-110.

Haney, already with the four titles in his personal showcase, was equally convincing in the rematch, winning again by unanimous decision, 118-110 (2X) and 119- 109. That fight also took place in Melbourne, Australia.

Devin Haney and Vasily Lomachenko are both elite 135-pound fighters.

“He was definitely a lot smaller than I thought he was,” Haney said of Lomachenko. “A lot of people say he’s not a real lightweight. He is a smaller guy. The lightweight division is not really his class.”

Lomachenko, who will turn thirty-five in February, is ten years older than the twenty-four-year-old Haney, who surpasses Lomachenko in size (5’8 to 5’7) and also in reach (71″ to 65.5”)

“He might be a master [boxer] to Bob [Arum] but he’s not a master to me,” Haney said. “He’s a fighter and human just like me. I will show that he ain’t no master.”

LOMACHENKO: “My goal is to win the undisputed lightweight title.”

Champion in both the Beijing-2008 and London-2012 Olympics, Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) is currently ranked first by the WBC and the WBO, as well as being ranked third by the IBF and fourth by the WBA; all at 135 pounds.

Lomachenko, a southpaw who has been champion in three divisions (feather, super featherweight and lightweight), continues to focus on reconquering the 135-pound titles, which he had in his possession but ceded by unanimous decision to American Teófimo López (18-1, 13 KOs) in October 2020 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

A year later, in November 2021 at Madison Square Garden, López succumbed to Australian George Kambosos Jr., where the three titles changed ownership.

Shortly after, a clash between Kambosos Jr and Lomachenko was scheduled, but the duel did not take place as Lomachenko joined the defense of Ukraine after the Russian invasion of his country in February 2022.

Given Lomachenko’s decision in support of his compatriots, his position was taken by Haney, who defeated Kambosos Jr. in June and then again in October.

Fourteen days after Haney’s second win, on October 29^th, Lomachenko returned to the ring and was victorious over then-undefeated American Jamaine Ortíz (16-1-1, 9 KOs) by unanimous decision at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden.

“I love my sport and I am so glad to be back,” Lomachenko said after the fight to the assembled media. “My goal is to win the undisputed lightweight title.”

Article submitted by Jorge Juan Alvarez in Spanish.

Please note any adjustments made were for clarification purposes and any errors in translation were unintentional.

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