Devin Haney views Vasiliy Lomachenko as his most imposing opponent in terms of experience and accomplishments.
The undefeated, fully unified lightweight champion isn’t certain, though, that the Ukrainian southpaw will emerge as the boxer who gave Haney his most difficult fight. Haney believes he will present problems for Lomachenko that no other opponent has given him, which will make their encounter easier for him than many fans and experts expect.
“We gotta see,” Haney told BoxingScene.com when asked if Lomachenko will be his toughest opponent. “On paper, for sure. I have nothing but respect for Loma and what he’s done up to date, but me, I’m just a different kind of fighter. The things he was getting away with against [other fighters], he won’t get away with [against] me.”
The younger, taller, longer Haney (29-0, 15 KOs), of Henderson, Nevada, is listed by most sportsbooks as a slight favorite to beat Ukraine’s Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) in their 12-round, 135-pound championship match May 20 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The bout between Haney, 24, and Lomachenko, 35, is the main event of a three-fight ESPN Pay-Per-View show ($59.99).
Despite Lomachenko’s age and his tougher-than-expected points victory against Jamaine Ortiz (16-1-1, 8 KOs) in his most recent fight, he is generally regarded as a greater threat to Haney than former IBF/WBA/WBO lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. Haney out-classed Kambosos (20-2, 10 KOs) in back-to-back 12-round title fights, both of which Haney won by unanimous decision during a four-month span last year.
Haney acknowledged the traits that make Lomachenko, a three-division champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, such a complex opponent.
“His experience alone just outweighs all of my opponents up to date,” Haney said. “You know, his style, he’s calculated. He’s smart in the ring. He’s not just coming in there to throw punches or not coming with a game plan. He’s coming in there to be ready and set traps.”
Jorge Linares, a three-weight world champion, is a common opponent who gave Haney and Lomachenko varying degrees of difficulty.
Venezuela’s Linares (47-8, 29 KOs) buzzed Haney with a right hand just before the 10th round ended in their fight for Haney’s WBC title in May 2021 at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. Haney withstood that troublesome moment and won by the same score, 116-112, according to all three judges.
Three years earlier, Linares’ right hand dropped Lomachenko late in the sixth round. Lomachenko recovered and knocked out Linares with a perfectly placed left hand to the body in the 10th round of their May 2018 fight at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Haney wouldn’t identify Linares as the opponent that gave him the most trouble, though.
“I don’t know,” Haney said. “Styles make fights. I can’t really say. My main focus is Loma. You know, it doesn’t matter what I did up to now. It doesn’t matter what styles I fought then. It all depends on May 20th and me being successful, me being able to crack the code of Lomachenko.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.