Regardless of the outcome, Saturday night’s lightweight championship fight may be the last landmark match in the division for both undisputed champion Devin Haney, pictured left, and Vasiliy Lomachenko. Haney, 23, will inevitably move up a weight class on his quest to be considered boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighter. At 35, former WBA/WBO/The Ring title holder Lomachenko is in the twilight of his prime.
This doesn’t make Lomachenko any less effective when it comes to versatility, and a shoulder injury that has been operated on may have played more of a role than age in his last several fights. The Olympic medalist spent time away from the ring to serve with the Ukrainian army last year during the Russia invasion but took leave to defeat former sparring partner Jamaine Ortiz in October.
The southpaw’s footwork is still effective, and his fists-of-fury combinations remain blurs of punishment, but he catches more shots to the face nowadays and is at height and reach disadvantages in comparison to Haney. Lomachenko’s vicious left cross and effectiveness in clinches could neutralize Haney’s size superiority.
Haney’s match against southpaw Joseph Diaz in November 2021 was good preparation for fighting Lomachenko. Orthodox-stanced Haney trained under the eye of his father Bill, who moved 14-year-old Devin to Las Vegas from their native San Francisco Bay Area. Living in boxing’s mecca led young Haney to train under “professors of the game” such as Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Roger Mayweather and Floyd Mayweather Sr.
“The Dream,” as he would come to be called, absorbed their expert knowledge and discarded what didn’t work for him. By 2019, he was the WBC champion, and before the end of 2022 he held titles sanctioned by the WBA, IBF, WBO and The Ring. Haney has not fought Lomachenko, though, leaving a loose thread in the legacy he is weaving.
Haney created controversy in April 2020 when he stated in an interview, in reference to a possible fight with Lomachenko, that he “would never lose to a white boy.” Haney later denied he was racist, and his comment can be considered hyperbolic heat he used to fire himself up with, but the stage was set for the two of the best lightweight fighters of the past decade to clash.
The comments did not faze Lomachenko or fuel resentment in the Ukrainian boxer. He’s fighting for more than his record now, representing a country at war that he once won gold medals for. A victory and becoming undisputed lightweight champion of the world would be both a thrilling highlight of the final act of his career and a morale boost for his country.
For Haney, it would be a milestone win over his only real competition in the lightweight division as well as a fulfillment of his vow to not lose to Lomachenko. Haney seems poised to continuously move up and dominate weight divisions, becoming the next best pound-for-pound champion in boxing. Lomachenko stands in his way.
MGM Grand, 3 p.m. May 20, starting at $79 plus tax and fee. axs.com
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