Devin Haney vs Vasiliy Lomachenko is unmistakably one of the biggest boxing fights of this year. They are two of the most highly touted and successful boxers and a showdown has been a long time coming. Having crossed all the hurdles, the pair will finally throw down on May 20, 2023.
As such, we will witness a fight for the ages at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in front of thousands of fans, with millions more tuning in worldwide. Ahead of the fight, both Devin and Vasiliy have remained tight-lipped over their strategies coming into the fight. Recently, the pair also had an explosive face-to-face as well.
Advertised as “Checkmate,” the fight will see Haney defend his WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring titles. Coming in against him is Lomachenko, The Ring No. 7 P4P, former unified lightweight champion, and three-division world champion. Moreover, this voluntary defense for the current undisputed lightweight champion Haney is nothing but a step toward putting his name in the history books.
Devin Haney vs Vasiliy Lomachenko: Tale of the Tape
Standing at a stature of 5ft 8in, ‘The Dream’ has a significant height advantage over Loma, who stands at 5ft 7in. Moreover, Haney also boasts a reach advantage of 5 and a half inches; Haney’s reach is 71 in/180 cm while Loma’s lies at 65 and a half in/166cm.
Previously, Devin Haney beat George Kambosos Jr for the second time. Prior to that, Lomachenko had reportedly refused to fight Kambosos, stating that he needed to stay back and fight for his family in Ukraine. As such, Haney was very vocal about Lomachenko supposedly ‘ducking him’ instead.
Following the rematch win over Kambosos, Haney stated that he would prefer to fight Loma before Ramadan in March. However, contract talks and management disputes pushed the fight to May, finally giving us a date for the showdown.
The Dream vs Loma: Boxing record
For those unaware, Haney will be coming into this fight with a spotless 29-0 record. In his last outing, he defeated George Kambosos Jr via unanimous decision. Moreover, the performance was a masterclass and really put Haney in contention of arguably being the best P4P boxer in the world.
On the other hand, Lomachenko is coming into this fight with a 17-2 record. Previously, Lomachenko beat Jamaine Ortiz via unanimous decision in a 12-round contest. Thus, on a mission to make good on his two defeats, Lomachenko has amassed 3 consecutive victories inside the ring since his last loss. Further, Loma also boasts a jaw-dropping 396-1 amateur boxing record as well.
Whilst Haney (24) is the bigger, stronger, and younger fighter, Lomachenko (35) is still a threat and a more than worthy opponent. Although Devin intends to ‘retire’ the Ukrainian boxer, he is well aware of the dangers that he possesses and believes he has a read on what the former champ will try to do. Will Haney be able to justify that claim come fight night or will we see Lomachenko become champ once again? Only time will tell.