LAS VEGAS – Devin Haney’s hard shove on stage Friday afternoon convinced Vasiliy Lomachenko that he has the undefeated, undisputed lightweight champion right where he wants him.
“Now he’s mine,” Lomachenko told ESPN’s Mark Kriegel immediately after the incident. “He don’t have the power.”
Haney uncharacteristically lost his composure after their ceremonial weigh-in at MGM Grand Garden Arena and pushed Lomachenko with two hands to his opponent’s chest. Lomachenko seemed to simply stare at Haney during their faceoff and didn’t say anything to antagonize Haney.
The taller, younger champion surprisingly pushed him, which Lomachenko took to mean that Haney is very nervous as their ESPN Pay-Per-View main event nears.
“Because he’s scared,” Lomachenko said. “He’s scared. Because I see right now. I see right now and a hundred percent [he’s scared].”
ESPN’s Joe Tessitore announced during the network’s telecast of the ceremonial weigh-in that the Nevada State Athletic Commission will fine Haney for putting his hands on Lomachenko.
The 24-year-old Haney, whose maturity and professionalism have previously served him well in similar situations, admitted during his interview with ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna that he let his emotions get the best of him.
“The time has finally come,” Haney said. “It’s been a long time coming. It’s been four years. I’ve always dreamed of, you know, facing off with him and the emotions set in now that it’s finally time.”
Haney indicated that he gained some sort of advantage by shoving Lomachenko the day before they’ll fight for Haney’s IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO 135-pound championships at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
“That was just the start,” Haney said. “You see how easy I pushed him? He’s a smaller man and I’m gonna impose my will on him.”
The 5-foot-8 Haney stands approximately two inches taller than Lomachenko, who has been considered a small lightweight since he moved up from the 130-pound division five years ago.
Ukraine’s Lomachenko officially weighed in at exactly 135 pounds Friday morning, more than seven hours before they stepped on the scale significantly heavier for ESPN’s cameras. Haney, of Henderson, Nevada, stepped on the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s scale at 134.9 pounds Friday morning.
Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) is listed at MGM Grand’s sportsbook as more than a 2-1 favorite to beat Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs). While Haney’s back-to-back points wins against Australia’s George Kambosos Jr. (20-2, 10 KOs) made him boxing’s fully unified lightweight champion, Haney realizes Lomachenko is commonly considered the best opponent of his seven-year professional career.
“It’s about legacy,” Haney said. “This is a dream for me. You know, I’ve been wanting this fight for a long, long time. And it’s finally here. I cannot wait to show how great Devin Haney is. This is a fight that will bring out my greatness.”
The 35-year-old Lomachenko, a three-weight world champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, left MGM Grand Garden Arena certain that Haney’s behavior during fight week is indicative of a boxer who knows this will be the most difficult fight of his career. Before he shoved Lomachenko on Friday afternoon, Haney attracted a lot of attention by calling Lomachenko “a dirty fighter” as they walked together between promotional appearances Tuesday at MGM Grand.
“Because he knows,” Lomachenko said, “it will be very, very hard for him.”
Haney-Lomachenko is the main event of a three-bout ESPN Pay-Per-View telecast scheduled to start at 10 p.m. EDT (7 p.m. PDT; $59.99).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.