It was the signature mantra of Roy Jones Jr.
“Y’all musta forgot.”
And there it was again on Saturday night in Las Vegas, though this time being modeled by a fighter operating about 40 pounds lighter and wrapping a different flag around his shoulders.
But make no mistake, Vasiliy Lomachenko was no less steely than Superman in his heyday.
Now 35 and noticeably gray around the temples, the former three-division champion woke up the echoes of past virtuosity against one of the sport’s few undisputed kings and nearly wrested Devin Haney’s stash of four lightweight belts across 12 memorable rounds at the MGM Grand.
It was a shocking performance to the linemakers who’d installed the reigning claimant as a better-than-2-to-1 favorite, but perhaps not to those who’d been following the subliminally superior Ukrainian since he emerged from the amateurs as a two-time Olympic gold medalist in 2013.
He jumped immediately into the world-class mix and was a world champion by the end of his third fight, then proceeded to grab four more belts across another 12 victories before the train was finally halted by a compelling but fair loss to Teofimo Lopez inside the COVID bubble three years ago.
The magic was gone that night and through three more largely nondescript wins for Lomachenko, who’d last appeared before Saturday while squeaking out a debatable points verdict over an unheralded Jamaine Ortiz last October at the Madison Square Garden theater.
It didn’t figure to return against Haney, who stood an inch taller, held a five-inch edge in reach, and hadn’t come close to a loss in ending 15 fights by KOs and 14 more by one-sided decisions. That his opponents hadn’t been Murderers Row didn’t matter so much as the control shown by a 24-year-old with fast hands, good legs, and a craving for a seat at the grown-up pound-for-pound table.
Through the first handful of rounds it certainly didn’t, as Haney fought effectively at times off both the front foot and back while periodically strafing Lomachenko with long hooks to the body.
Then, poof… the magician reappeared.
He jolted Haney’s head back with flashy shots. He worked into range with nimble feet. And once inside he bamboozled the younger, bigger man with quick combinations that became incrementally more damaging as Haney grew more tired and ultimately more frustrated.
It was impressive. It was nostalgic. But was it enough?
Did it warrant the decision that went against him twice by 115-113 and once by 116-112?
Maybe? But maybe not.
Though Lomachenko was the one to be down the stretch – excluding the 12th, which he lost on all three cards – it’s certainly no crime to suggest Haney could have been up 5-3 through eight (as he was on all three cards), which means his simply splitting the last four rounds or even losing three of them would have provided worthwhile grounds for retention.
So while outrage is loud, it seems a misplaced residue of momentum, not total dominance.
While it may seem ludicrous to claim Haney won eight rounds. It’s no less so to say Lomachenko did.
Still, ex-HBO mic man Jim Lampley, who called several of Lomachenko’s fights before the network threw in the towel in 2018, does see a trend when it comes to the beaten man’s origin story.
Which, if true, is endemic to something far more sinister.
“The next Eastern Euro fighter who gets a fair shake from Vegas judges will be the first,” he said.
“Kovalev, Triple G, now Vasiliy. All victims of similar decisions that turn on late-round scorecards that go against them when they are not fading, but rather right there in the fight. The Vegas official establishment knows its job, which is to take care of the casinos that feed every meter in town.
“How many bettors fly in from Ukraine or Kazakhstan? Or Russia? Not as many as from California or Mexico. Are all these decisions pure coincidence? Or do they portray political logic on the strip? Once, twice, three times, now four.”
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This week’s title-fight schedule:
IBF featherweight title – Belfast, Northern Ireland
Luis Alberto Lopez (champion/No. 3 Ring) vs. Michael Conlan (Unranked IBF/No. 9 Ring)
Lopez (27-2, 15 KO): First title defense; Never lost a fight in the United Kingdom (2-0, 1 KO)
Conlan (18-1, 9 KO): Second title fight (0-1); Never lost a fight in native Belfast (5-0, 2 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Conlan got within 95 seconds of a title in his last opportunity just one fight and 14 months ago. It’s hard to return from such a KO but the hometown crowd will help. Conlan by decision (80/20)
WBA featherweight title – Manchester, England
Mauricio Lara (champion/No. 1 Ring) vs. Leigh Wood (No. 5 WBA/No. 7 Ring)
Lara (26-2-1, 19 KO): First title defense; Last four victories have come via KO/TKO (22 total rounds)
Wood (26-3, 16 KO): Fourth title fight (2-1); Lost WBA title to Lara three months ago (TKO by 7)
Fitzbitz says: Lara was anonymous prior to beating Josh Warrington two years ago in London but he’s proven his world-class chops since and won’t stop doing so in this rematch. Lara in 10 (90/10)
WBO junior heavyweight title – Bournemouth, England
Lawrence Okolie (champion/No. 2 Ring) vs Chris Billam-Smith (No. 1 WBO/No. 11 Ring)
Okolie (19-0, 14 KO): Fourth title defense; Five KO/TKO wins across nine 12-round fights (9-0)
Billam-Smith (17-1, 12 KO): First title fight; Seventh fight in Bournemouth hometown (6-0, 4 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Okolie is a big, strong fighter at 200 pounds, yet he’s vulnerable to the right challenger. But the smaller Billam-Smith, though fighting at home, isn’t that guy. Okolie by decision (75/25)
WBO mini-flyweight title – Indio, California
Melvin Jerusalem (champion/No. 3 Ring) vs. Oscar Collazo (No. 1 WBO/No. 10 Ring)
Jerusalem (20-2, 12 KO): First title defense; Third fight outside the Philippines (1-1, 1 KO)
Collazo (6-0, 4 KO): First title fight; Third consecutive fight in California (2-0, 1 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Should a challenger with six fights have enough to handle a championship veteran with nearly four times the resume? No. But Collazo seems the right guy in the right place. Collazo in 9 (80/20)
Last week’s picks: 2-0 (WIN: Haney, Nakatani)
2023 picks record: 17-4 (80.1 percent)
Overall picks record: 1,267-412 (75.5 percent)
NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body’s full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA “world championships” are only included if no “super champion” exists in the weight class.
Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.