_1665815633.jpg)
Hulu Theater, Madison Square Garden, New York City – WBC, WBO, IBF, WBA lightweight champion Devin Haney was ringside on Saturday night, as he watched former three division world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko win a twelve round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Jamaine Ortiz (16-1-1, 8 KOs).
The scores were 115-113, 116-112 and 117-111.
Lomachenko was returning after nearly after nearly a year layoff. He last saw action in December 2021, with a decision win over Richard Commey.
Ortiz made it a very competitive fight for the entire twelve rounds.
He started strong early on, as Lomachenko started slow and began to get things going in the fifth round. Ortiz would eventually make adjustments by switching southpaw, which created another puzzle for Lomachenko to solve. The veteran surged in the championship rounds in what played out to be a much tougher fight than many had expected.
The plan by Top Rank is to match Lomachenko against Haney in 2023.
Haney is coming off back to back dominant wins over George Kambosos.
While Haney felt Lomachenko looked a bit flat, he expects a much better version when they meet in the ring.
“I think it wasn’t the best performance, but I know if me and Loma were to fight, we’d see a better version on the night. Congratulations, and hopefully we can get it on,” Haney said.
Lomachenko was initially in line to fight Kambosos earlier this year. He pulled away from the fight to travel back to Ukraine and assist his countrymen with the ongoing military conflict with Russia. Based on his recent performance, Haney will be viewed by many observers as the favorite.