Devin Haney leaves Vasiliy Lomachenko in tears after a razor-thin win to retain the undisputed titles… but is booed by the crowd
DEVIN HANEY walked away with bragging rights and his undisputed crown after eventually fighting Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Within about four years, the two lightweight stars met in Las Vegas to beat all the marbles.
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And it was about as hard fought as twelve rounds of boxing can get, with fans and pundits alike struggling to separate them.
However, all three judges disagreed as Haney emerged victorious with a unanimous points win and his WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO belts.
He said: “I take my hat off to Loma the future Hall of Famer, he was by far my toughest opponent, he’s very smart.”
Haney, 24, attacked the body from the start, but Lomachenko, 35, was also quickly trapped.
And he proved his famous footwork showed no sign of weakness as the Ukrainian danced around the American at times.
Haney was the one to take the lead with a powerful jab in the early stages, but Lomachenko was quick to counter in combinations.
Every time the champion landed something notable, he was knocked back, making for great action in the middle of the ring.
Haney favored the double jab and right hand to body mid-fight, causing redness around Lomachenko’s body.
But the evening’s challenger kept Haney at bay by snapping his head back with some nice left hands.
Towards the end of the fight, Lomachenko showed his strength and set up a number of combinations that Haney struggled to defend.
In the last three minutes it seemed too close to be able to decide everything.
But Haney showed his champion’s status by coming out strong and regaining the momentum.
The chase on the final lap proved the crucial difference and was enough to eclipse the result.
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But an enraged Lomachenko – who broke down in tears backstage – didn’t agree as he was speechless at the decision.
He said: “I don’t want to talk about it. All people see what happened today.”
“I can’t talk about it right now, it’s just not a comfortable moment for me.”
Haney – who was booed by his home Vegas crowd after the win – has announced a weight gain since winning his belts, but his future remains uncertain.
He said: “It was always difficult for me to reach the weight and I achieved everything at 135.
“I just beat a future Hall of Famer, this is my eighth title defense so we’ll just have to see.”
“But there are a lot of great fighters in the 135lb class so we’ll see.”
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