The long hoped-for epic clash between undisputed Lightweight champion, Devin Haney, and former multi-division champion and amateur legend Vasyl Lomachenko, has finally been announced to be set for May 20th at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, as declared by boxing promotion Top Rank.
With both Devin Haney (29-0, 15 KO’s) and Vasyl Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KO’s) having confirmed interest in fighting each other following the Ukrainian’s victory over Jamaine Ortiz (16-1-1, 8 KO’s), the two will now officially meet in the ring on May 20th according to Top Rank who enjoys both fighters as a part of their stable.
Haney, who became undisputed after a unanimous decision victory over George Kambosos Jr. (20-2, 10 KO’s) in June of 2022, sealed his status as the best in the division after defeating Kambosos four months later in a rematch that saw him successfully defend his newly-gained titles. Haney first became a world champion in 2019 after he defeated Zaur Abdullaev (17-1, 10 KO’s) for the interim WBC Lightweight title, whereafter he soon was promoted to full champion.
He went on to defend his title four more times over the course of approximately two years before he received the opportunity to unify with then-unified champion George Kambosos Jr. , who himself had not been a unified champion for long after taking the titles away from Teofimo Lopez (18-1, 15 KO’s). Lopez himself earned the distinction of being the unified champion after defeating Vasyl Lomachenko in October of 2020 as the IBF champion to win the WBA and WBO Lightweight titles from the Ukrainian.
Vasyl Lomachenko will head into the ring with a very accomplished resume, despite having had just nineteen fights in his career — ten less than Haney’s twenty-nine fights. Regarded as the best amateur boxer in the history of the sport, Lomachenko’s resume far surpasses that of Haney. He won his first world title in just his third fight against American contender Gary Allen Russell Jr. (31-2, 18 KO’s) in 2014, and continued on to fight current, former and future world champions in various weight classes, with a decent portion amongst them having been undefeated prior to facing Lomachenko.
Though he suffered a controversial split-decision loss in his second fight against Orlando Salido in 2014, Lomachenko went on to establish himself as a generational fighter with the level of opponents he fought early on, and later. His luck seemed to be tumbling down when after years of remaining undefeated, he suffered his second loss against Teofimo Lopez in a Lightweight unification bout in 2020. Lomachenko has, since then, been on a three-match winning streak and looks very much in form.
Though questions hang around Lomachenko’s current age of 35 and Devin Haney — 24 years old — clearly has youth on his side, Lomachenko seems very much in form and is capable of defeating Haney. Regardless of whether Lomachenko is currently at his peak or not, Haney will face tough opposition in the Ukrainian who will face the opportunity to become undisputed for the first time of his career.
Devin Haney himself, however, can also not be underestimated despite his weaker resume which pales in comparison to Lomachenko’s, despite the American youngster having had more fights. Despite Lomachenko still occupying a top 10 position on the pound-for-pound rankings whereas Haney does not, Haney is considered the favorite in the betting odds and he has every advantage going for him to win the fight including height, reach and youth.
