Haney vs. Lomachenko
The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada will host one of the most anticipated fights of 2023. The undisputed lightweight championship will be on the line as champion Devin Haney will defend the crown against former champion Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Haney (29-0, 15 KO) is coming off a successful title defense in a rematch against George Kambosos Jr. in October. The win was his second straight unanimous decision win over Kambosos and his sixth straight fight won by unanimous decision. Haney’s last finish came back in 2019 against Zaur Abdullaev where he won his first major title.
The 24-year-old was calling for a fight with Lomachenko back in 2019, but was dismissed by Lomachenko who was the champion at the time. Haney will finally have the chance to prove that was the fight to make. "He was No. 1 pound-for-pound and I'm going to get there eventually," said Haney, "I got into this business to be the best and to do that, you have to fight the best. I have been trying to fight him for a long time and now this is my opportunity.”
Much has been discussed about the size difference between Haney and Lomachenko, but the champion is not buying into the talk. "I don't really see it like I'm so much bigger than him," Haney said. "He beat [Masayoshi] Nakatani, who is bigger than me. Me and Ortiz are the same size. There was someone else [bigger than me that he beat] but I can't remember the name, but all of this, 'Oh, Haney's so much bigger than Lomachenko,' I don't think it's a factor.”
"Size shouldn't matter. The best fighter will win and that will be me.”
Haney’s main mission is to prove he is the best pound for pound fighter in the world. "There's a lot of talk, 'I want to fight this guy,' or 'I'll do this to that guy when I fight him,' but it's just talk," Haney said. "Until you get in there and fight, you don't know. You know, I've been saying this for a long time. I want all of these guys because I believe I'm the best and I know what I need to do to prove it. Loma took this fight and now I have my opportunity to prove what I've been saying and feeling for a long time.”
Aside from Kambosos, Haney has key victories in his career over Joseph Diaz Jr, Jorge Linares and Yuriorkis Gamboa. A win over Lomachenko will gain Haney the respect he deserves as a must see masterful pound for pound boxing champion.
Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KO) is coming off a unanimous decision win over Jamaine Ortiz in October. He is 3-0 since losing the WBA and WBO titles back in 2020. The 35-year-old is a former three weight world champion having also held titles at featherweight and junior lightweight.
Despite not having a title heading into this fight, Lomachenko is considered one of the greatest and most-skilled fighters of all-time. The Ukrainian fighter became a champion in just his third professional fight and has defended a title 10 times.
Many of the pundits believe that Lomachenko is on the wrong side of 30 to go on a another championship run. The former champion is not concerned about what is being said of the fight. “It’s more pressure for Haney, not me,” said Lomachenko to Top Rank recently. “I already lose, I’m underdog, I’m old boxer.”
Lomachenko finally gets to fight for an undisputed title, but this time as the underdog. Does he care about the odds? “No, I’m not surprised. I understand why people are talking about underdog from my side. I don’t care. I just want to prove who I am,” said Lomachenko.
The main card can be seen on ESPN+ PPV
