On Saturday, May 20th, Devin Haney won a hotly debated unanimous decision over Vasiliy Lomachenko that left the internet in a frenzy. For Haney, it was his second defense of his undisputed lightweight world titles as well as his first time as world champion fighting in his adopted him of Las Vegas, Nevada - and on pay-per-view.
The fight which could’ve been the defining winning of Haney’s career will now be one that is hotly debated and reexamined as opposed to a centerpiece for a run to the top of the pound-for-pound division.
On Monday morning, let’s talk about who Haney should fight next.
Lomachenko
In a fair world, and that one doesn’t exist to be honest, Vasiliy Lomachenko would get a rematch against Devin Haney. The outcome is debatable but is the classic rematch fodder. Some might see the fight as Adrien Broner versus Daniel Ponce de Leon, or Canelo Alvarez versus Erislandy Lara, neither of which saw rematches, but should have.
The ultimate issue is the fight felt like a draw. That said, Lomachenko outlanded Haney in terms of overall punches, output, jab, and power shots. Now that is a small microscope of a fight as Lomachenko won the tenth and eleventh round wide, and those numbers could’ve been skewed in those one-sided rounds. Still, the outcry of wanting to see a rematch seems heavy and a rematch could potentially do even bigger business with further intrigue.
The best option would be a rematch with Vasiliy Lomachenko at lightweight or a catchweight to silence the doubters.
Tank Davis
Face the money man, Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Davis is the most profitable fighter in the lower weights and has fought on pay-per-view two times this year. A fight between Haney and Davis would do huge box office numbers and pay-per-view numbers as the two have been friendly rivals for years.
This would also help unfold who is truly the Capital G Guy in the division. Haney is apparently out of his contract with Top Rank Inc., and if so, that should allow him to negotiate with any-and-all parties.
It is a classic boxer versus puncher match-up. Honestly, it is the most interesting fight Haney could be in terms of getting the fans of the sport excited.
Shakur Stevenson
Stevenson is chasing Devin Haney. This past Saturday, Stevenson entered the ring to call out Devin Haney, who didn’t engage him. Stevenson wants to fight Devin Haney and isn’t biting his tongue.
Stevenson is also a two-division world champion and the person many purists feel is the future pound-for-pound number-one fighter in the world. This would be a fight against one of the best modern fighters in Stevenson, facing Haney who has some of the most impressive accomplishments for a fighter at his age.
A very interesting fight that it seems Shakur Stevenson is actively pursuing.
Teofimo Lopez
Haney and Teofimo Lopez have had exchanges in the past. It dates back to sparring stories, then when Teofimo Lopez had all four world titles, but Devin Haney had a form of the WBC lightweight world title, which had the two at odds.
If Lopez can defeat Josh Taylor on June 10th, a big if, that would set the stage for a battle of two of the youngest undisputed lightweight world champions in modern history. It would be a natural rivalry that dates back to Las Vegas gym folklore all the way back to 2018.
With two involved fathers who could also add to the excitement, a fight between Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez could be a very interesting spectacle. Especially since Teofimo Lopez started the trend of young fighters stepping up and taking big fights when he took on Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020.
Rolando Romero
Rolando Romero holds the WBA junior welterweight title. Romero and Haney are not fond of each other, or at least have taken jest at each other. Romero holds a world title and is great in front of a microphone. This would be an interesting bout as it would be the power of Romero versus the ability of Haney.
What it also would be is a comparable opponent to Gervonta Davis for Haney, a future really big fight for the prizefighter. Romero is an interesting first step for Haney if he wants to try his hand with the junior welterweight division, which could also land him back on pay-per-view if he were to take this route.
