LAS VEGAS – Vasiliy Lomachenko contended Saturday night that he has fought two former lightweight champions who were tougher opponents than Devin Haney.
Lomachenko walked away from the ring at MGM Grand Garden Arena feeling that both Jorge Linares and Teofimo Lopez gave him more trouble than Haney, who conquered Lomachenko by unanimous decision in a 12-round fight that seemingly could’ve gone either way. Judges Tim Cheatham (115-113), Dave Moretti (116-112) and David Sutherland (115-113) all scored their back-and-forth fight for the undefeated Haney (30-0, 15 KOs), who remains boxing’s fully unified lightweight champion.
“You know what? I wanna see him fight [Jamaine] Ortiz, with Haney,” Lomachenko said during his post-fight press conference. “It will be very interesting. But if you’re talking about Linares, if you’re talking about Lopez, to me, they are better than Haney.”
Brooklyn’s Lopez (18-1, 13 KOs) also beat Lomachenko by unanimous decision in their 12-round lightweight title fight in October 2020 at MGM Grand Conference Center. A then-unbeaten Lopez got off to a strong start that night, withstood Lomachenko’s rally in the second half of their bout and beat Lopez by various margins on the scorecards (119-109, 117-111 and 116-112).
Ukraine’s Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) knocked out Linares with a body shot during the 10th round of their lightweight championship match five years ago at Madison Square Garden in New York. Linares led on one scorecard (86-84) entering the 10th round of their fight in May 2018, but Lomachenko was ahead on one card (86-84) and they were even on the other card (85-85).
Linares lost to Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) by unanimous decision in a 12-round fight for Haney’s WBC 135-pound crown almost two years ago at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. Venezuela’s Linares (47-8, 29 KOs) hurt Haney with a right hand just before the 10th round ended, but Haney recovered and beat Linares by the same score on all three cards (116-112, 116-112, 115-113).
Linares’ five previous professional defeats all came by knockout or technical knockout.
Haney, of Henderson, Nevada, fought more aggressively than usual against Lomachenko and attacked the southpaw particularly effectively with right hands to the body. Lomachenko was especially impressive in the 10th and 11th rounds, when he landed various power punches on a seemingly fatigued Haney.
The 24-year-old Haney was respectful and praised Lomachenko after their hard-fought, fan-friendly bout. The 35-year-old Lomachenko claimed he expected more from the bigger, younger Haney in their ESPN Pay-Per-View main event.
“I think from his side it [would] be a little bit different,” Lomachenko said. “But then he [started] boxing from [the] first round. He always still continue [to] do the same [thing]. And after that, I understand he can’t change nothing during the fight. He do always his uppercut right. I think so, yeah, right uppercut. And [I heard] everybody talking about his jab, so today was not his time [with] the jab.”
Without solicitation, Lomachenko mentioned Ortiz as a potential opponent that could give Haney difficulty. Ortiz (16-1-1, 8 KOs), of Worcester, Massachusetts, gave Lomachenko more trouble than anticipated in their 12-rounder, but Lomachenko beat him by unanimous decision October 29 at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.