Teófimo López has given his two cents on how the upcoming Devin Haney vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko fight on 20th May for the undisputed lightweight championship will play out, and the former unified lightweight world champion insists that Lomachenko will beat Haney.
I don’t think Devin has that fighting dog in him: Teófimo López
López had fought Lomachenko back in October 2020 and marked a unanimous decision win, unifying the WBA (Super), WBO and IBF belts. However, he then lost the belts to George Kambosos Jr in November 2021, while Kambosos Jr ended up losing the belts to Haney last year. However, López feels the Ukrainian will be dethroning Haney, as he opines that the latter doesn’t have the “dog” in him.
“I think I have Lomachenko winning that fight,” López said during an interview with DAZN Boxing Show. “The only reason I’m saying this is because of the intelligence of the punches this guy ( Lomachenko ) throws and what he does. He will tire you.”
“Although Devin has the physical condition for it, he has to enter the trade. It’s just that you can’t just play defense with Loma. You can’t be defensive against Loma. You have to attack him by any means necessary, and I don’t think Devin has that fighting dog in him,” added Lopez.
On the other hand, López analyzed one of the main topics of discussion in the run-up to the fight between Haney and Lomachenko: the difference in size between the two. And the fact is that Haney is pretty big for 135, and has to cut a lot of weight to make weight, and then rehydrates a lot to rebound to a weight well above the division at fight time. However, “The Takeover” believes that poses no threat for Lomachenko.
“The difference in sizes will not matter,” Lopez stated. “Loma has fought bigger fighters than that. Just think about him being a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He had over 400 amateur fights. He’s been in professional boxing, champion in three divisions, all of that. What I mean is that he’s fought tall, short, every guy you can think of. Although Devin has a good jab, I don’t think ( Loma ) is afraid to trade him.”
