Devin Haney managed to retain his title against Vasiliy Lomachenko on Saturday night in Las Vegas. The spectators loved the high-intensity action and after 12 rounds Devin Haney emerged with a mildly controversial unanimous decision to retain the undisputed lightweight championship. In the end, it was the work of Haney that was most appreciated by the trio of ringside judges as he won all three scorecards by scores of 116-112, 115-113, and 115-113.
Devin Haney emerged victorious over Vasiliy Lomachenko
The fight saw a constant change of momentum swings with Devin Haney getting off to a strong start, especially showing a dedication to working right-handed punches to Lomachenko’s body.
Lomachenko went on the offense from the onset even if Haney got off to the better start of the two. He also restricted Devin Haney to control the fight through size and strength, often being the man controlling position in the clinch and constantly walking Haney down.
The most dominant rounds in the fight were Round 10 and 11, where Lomachenko picked up the pace and hit Haney repeatedly. While Lomachenko appeared to have taken full control of the fight against a fatigued Haney, it was Haney who delivered in Round 12, doing enough to take the fight on all three official scorecards.
After the fight, Haney suggested that his time at lightweight could be coming to a close.
“Man, Lomachenko is a future Hall of Famer. It was a blessing,” Haney said of sharing the ring with his opponent. “I take my hat off to Loma. He’s my toughest opponent by far. He’s very crafty and we put on a great fight for the fans. … He’s a crafty fighter. He turns it up in the championship rounds. I just gotta take my hat off, he’s a great fighter,” he added. “It’s all experience. We’re going to go back, watch the fight, and reflect on it. I’ve been at 135 a long, long time. I’ve been at 135 since I was 16 years old. We’re gonna go back to the lab and figure out what’s next.”
Lomachenko refused to address the controversy in the scoring after the fight, instead focusing on getting back to work.
“I don’t want to talk about this,” Lomachenko said. “All the people saw what happened today. … Look, I think I showed I’m in good shape. See you next time. I can’t talk about this right now. It’s just, it’s not a comfortable moment for me.”
All respect after an epic 12-round fight 🤝 #HaneyLoma pic.twitter.com/6oDfbjZDXf
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) May 21, 2023
