LAS VEGAS – Devin Haney thinks Vasiliy Lomachenko is a dirty fighter.
The undisputed, undefeated lightweight champion told Lomachenko exactly that as the fighters and their teams walked together from one promotional appearance to another Tuesday at MGM Grand to discuss their ESPN Pay-Per-View fight Saturday night. Promoter Top Rank’s cameras captured the exchange and released the footage late Tuesday night through the company’s social media platforms.
“We know what he wants to do on the inside,” Haney said. “He wants to make it a dirty fight – slip the jab, slip the jab.”
Lomachenko, who walked slightly behind Haney, seemed surprised by what Haney said.
“When did you see a dirty fight during my career?,” Lomachenko asked. “Where? In which fight? In which fight?”
Haney initially didn’t mention a specific fight in which Lomachenko broke the rules.
“You know that’s your best bet,” Haney replied. “That’s your best bet against me.”
Ukraine’s Lomachenko didn’t understand what Haney meant by “best bet.”
“Like your best bet,” Haney said. “That’s the only thing you can do.”
Bill Haney, Devin’s father and trainer, tried to help an incredulous Lomachenko understand what his son meant.
“It’s the only thing you can do,” Bill Haney said. “It’s your best chance.”
Lomachenko looked perplexed by the conversation.
“My best chance is to do dirty fight?,” Lomachenko said.
They disagreed about that. Egis Klimas, Lomachenko’s manager, then defended the three-division champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist.
“You have never seen him fighting dirty,” Klimas said.
Devin Haney disagreed and said, “Yes, I have.”
Lomachenko again pressed for an example and asked, “Which one?”
“All of your fights,” Devin Haney said. “All of your fights.”
Lomachenko kept asking for an example of one of his dirty fights.
Haney mentioned Richard Commey, whom Lomachenko knocked down during the seventh round on his way to a 12-round, unanimous-decision win in December 2021 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“So where was [it] dirty?,” Lomachenko asked. “Where?”
“Punching on the inside,” Devin Haney replied. “When they say break, [you] punch. Break, punch. We know. We know what you’re preparing.”
Bill Haney then asked Lomachenko and Klimas about what’s allowed while fighting on the inside.
“Does break mean punch?,” Bill Haney said. “Or break means break?”
Klimas replied, “Break, you have to [break]. But prepare yourself.”
That response drew laughter from the Haneys, who continued to walk with Lomachenko and Klimas to their next promotional appearance.
Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) is consistently listed as more than a 2-1 favorite to defeat Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) in their 12-round fight for Haney’s IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO lightweight titles at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The bout between Haney, 24, and Lomachenko, 35, will headline a three-fight ESPN Pay-Per-View show scheduled to start at 10 p.m. EDT and 7 p.m. PDT ($59.99).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.