With Devin Haney having become the villain after poignantly shoving Vasyl Lomachenko prior to their match on May 20th, the American lightweight champion drew even more ire from the public after being ruled the winner by unanimous decision against Lomachenko. MGM Grand Arena hosted the Top Rank-organized event, and the crowd in attendance was noticeably heated following the announcement of Haney as the winner with scores of 116-112 and 115-113 twice.
Many seem to believe that Vasyl Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KO’s) was the winner in a match that was close, and Devin Haney (30-0, 15 KO’s) with his new role as ‘heel’ certainly did not win the crowd after his controversial win over the Ukrainian.
Moreover, the fact that two elite fighters had put up their best performances has been overlooked by many who have preferred to stew over who won or not. Both Vasyl Lomachenko and Devin Haney are two fighters who proved themselves to truly be world-class talents, and this fact more than anything has been overlooked, more so than the alleged corruption that took place with the judges.
Focused on the match, our own staff and editing team have had divided opinions over who won. So instead of merely describing the match in the view of one person, we have created two separate points of views on each fighter with a rationalization on how and why they won.
How and why Devin Haney won
Young, hungry and talented, 24-year old Devin Haney has struggled to find his place in a world where he’s been overlooked as a legitimate undisputed champion, despite defeating George Kambosos Jr. twice, in the Australian’s home country no less.
Faced against a popular fighter such as Vasyl Lomachenko, who seems to command respect with his humbleness and god-fearing attitude, there was perhaps no avoiding Haney’s home town crowd turning against him, but it was an opportunity for Haney to prove that he not only belonged in the top echelon of the division but also ruled it.
Haney’s keys to winning were two things: consistency and variety. Haney rarely used the same approach continuously and seemed to have drawn everything out of his locker that he could. Despite throwing most of his power through body punches, he also hit Loma square in the face more than a couple times to bruise him, but he did not cling to just one method of fighting, as he clearly sought a victory by any means necessary.
Then there was the fact he was simply consistent. Devin Haney used every round to try to come out on top, never using just one method (such as jabbing) to win the rounds he had. He never truly slagged off in his approach, even in rounds where Lomachenko clearly seemed to get the batter of him. Haney was defensively and offensively-sound, to say the least, as much as he could be and this has clearly resulted in him winning the rounds he had. Though the scorecard of 116-112 seems excessive, Haney’s overall efforts in the ring, especially his domination in the 12th round, was enough for him to secure the win.
How and why Lomachenko won
Vasyl Lomachenko’s path to the top has arguably been the most interesting of any fighter. A former amateur that turned pro at 25 after an illustrious amateur career that saw him win two gold Olympic medals, Lomachenko’s venture into the sport came under extraordinary attention, even more so when he not only proved his talent by quickly fighting for world titles against some of the best in his division.
Lomachenko’s fight with Haney, was not one-sided, despite the Ukrainian’s own claims that Haney was an easier opponent than Teofimo Lopez (18-1, 13 KO’s) and Jorge Linares (47-8, 29 KO’s) who he had received earlier. However, the Ukrainian seemed to be at his best in his fight with Haney and appeared to be the clear winner, edging out the match by several rounds.
Notably, Lomachenko’s key to winning was simple and efficient. There was no use of any grand unique strategy, moves or tactics. It was simply Loma as he has been known as; an outrageously skilled fighter who has dedicated himself to a style where he is most effective when in the pocket, though that does not fully describe the depth of Vasyl Lomachenko.
From his footwork to his ability to fight at near-inhuman angles, Vasyl Lomachenko is more than just a simple inside fighter, yet his 65.5-inch reach has forced the Ukrainian to adopt this fighting style. The effectiveness of his style was most palpable during his match with Devin Haney.
Despite Haney having various advantages, including size, Vasyl Lomachenko won the majority of rounds as the smaller man while moving forward. Though Haney had his own moments of success (especially when hitting Lomachenko in the body), Lomachenko still pushed Haney back on multiple occasions.
Most significantly, it was Lomachenko’s offensive that was supposed to have him announced the winner after his match with Haney. His style was almost a polar opposite to Haney’s who varied his punches, while Lomachenko stayed with a come-forward approach that saw Haney get hit flush a lot. That should have been enough to seal a victory, especially when he won two of the championship rounds (rounds 10 and 11).
Despite using the same method of pressuring Haney, Lomachenko was simply too effective at it to not leave the impression that he won. Every punch seemed to do more damage than Haney’s and the Ukrainian’s attempts at headhunting the American was simply a masterclass for pressure fighters. At the end of twelve rounds, Haney had proven to be tough, skilled and tactical but Lomachenko seemed to edge out by two or thee rounds due to will, effort and efficiency.
Rest of the fixtures
The co-main event saw the return of Oscar Valdez (31-1, 23 KO’s) after his April 2022 defeat to Shakur Stevenson (20-0,10 KO’s. The former Mexican Super Featherweight champion fought against Adam Lopez (16-5, 6 KO’s) who he had fought before in 2019 in a match that ended with Lopez being stopped. Though this rematch went the distance (after 10 rounds), Valdez largely dominated, especially later on in the fight, and he showed that he still had enough in the tank to potentially succeed against the likes of WBO Super Featherweight champion Emanuel Navarette (37-1, 31 KO’s) ― whom he was supposed to face in February of this year after an order by the WBO.
Lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla (18-0, 15 KO’s) showed his ability with a second-round stoppage victory over former world title challenger Jeremiah Nakathila (23-3, 19 KO’s). Despite fighting in only his second 10-round fight throughout his career, Muratalla’s performance may see him become a challenger for a world title soon, though he will have to contend with other talented Lightweights in a division stacked with them.
Former Japanese WBO Flyweight world champion Junto Nakatani (25-0, 19 KO’s) and Australian contender Andrew Moloney (25-3, 16 KO’s) fought over the vacant WBO Super Flyweight title for twelve rounds but the bout was mostly a completely dominant showing for the Japanese fighter who knocked Moloney out cold at the end of the 12th round. The knockout was notably brutal, and saw the entire arena grow quiet as medical attention was given to Moloney who seemed to struggle to regain his senses.
Then there was Nico Ali Walsh (8-0-1, 5 KO’s), the grandson of Muhammad Ali, who was involved in a very close fight that was eventually ruled a split draw by the judges. Nico Walsh’s opponent, Danny Rosenberger (13-9-5, 4 KO’s), was Walsh’s senior by at least 10 years but made the fight even despite the difference in age. With his experience, Nico Walsh failed to make the impact that as expected against a fighter with at least 9 losses. Though the draw still means he remains unbeaten, it was an important result for Nico Walsh, who is seeking to emerge from the shadow of his grandfather and establish his own identity in the sport.
What the result means going forward for boxing
Unfortunately, whether the decision is considered a ‘robbery’ or not, such controversies are likely to persist in the sport. Both fighters have cases where they can be judged to be the fair winner of their contest, but Haney’s win will likely always be disputed ― ironically enough despite his status as undisputed champion ― for a multitude of reasons.
The key issue here is not the fighters; it is the officials. With Vasyl Lomachenko having been judged to have won, it was up to the judges to correctly point out the winner. Last week, it was the referee that prematurely stopped a match that Rolly Romero (15-1, 13 KO’s) seemed to be losing, culminating in Ismael Barroso losing his match.
In other words, there have been two controversial decisions made by officials in the span of two weeks which obviously speaks of corruption ― if not incompetence.
But, of course, in boxing, the true culprits of these controversial decisions will be ignored at some point, and the blame will usually shift to the fighter who benefited from the officials’ decisions because they are in the public eye. Not only does the endless focus on fighters rather than officials fail to prevent these kinds of decisions, but it also allows for corruption to persist and worsen.
Regardless of how people perceived the outcome, the two fighters have perhaps shown their best abilities on a night where their performances largely went unnoticed, except to show that one fighter was more deserving than the other. Though that is still up for debate, both fighters deserve respect for risking their lives in a match where they had a lot to lose and gain.
