We are just days away from one of the most significant fights in 2023, leading to the undisputed crown either staying with its current owner or a new king taking over the division. Undisputed lightweight champion Devin ‘The Dream’ Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) takes on former multi-division champion Vasiliy Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs). This fight involving two premier pugilists will stream live on ESPN+ PPV on Saturday night.
WILL DEVIN ‘THE DREAM’ HANEY TURN INTO VASILIY LOMACHENKO’S NIGHTMARE?
Regardless of strategies, @RealDevinHaney is ready 👑#HaneyLoma | SAT | https://t.co/5NUYllW4TG pic.twitter.com/X0RqUxhhpL
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 17, 2023
Haney has been a world champion who has tried to be a public figure within pop culture but hasn’t connected with people like that. It’s not for his lack of trying, as he has been at all the significant events and made himself accessible to the media. It’s just that he comes off as trying too hard, and his talent has surpassed his profile which means people don’t appreciate his high level of pugilism. In saying all of that, it seems as if Haney has been chasing the fight that would get him over with the fans and media alike. That fight is on Saturday, and his opponent has all of the credibility that would make a win against him one of the most significant in Haney’s career to date.
Haney’s style isn’t the most exciting, and he has, at times, taken a chapter out of the Klitschko brother’s book where he throws a combination and then immediately holds. He hasn’t done that in every fight but enough to where people haven’t forgotten about it. Although that happens, he is dominant in spacing and using his left jab. Haney is so good at landing that left jab from a distance that it won’t put him in harm’s way. Then when he has thrown it enough times, that long, straight right hand comes down the middle, and it makes for a long night if you are his opponent. Lomachenko is a small guy, and most would say he really belongs at featherweight, but he still wants to take the challenges even at this stage of his career. Stylistically, Haney is a nightmare for Lomachenko as his size and speed will be a too much for the 35-year-old Ukrainian fighter. Will Saturday night in Las Vegas be the passing of the torch?
WILL WE SEE THE "MATRIX RESURRECTION" FOR VASILIY LOMACHENKO?
Just four more days.#HaneyLoma | SAT | https://t.co/5NUYllW4TG pic.twitter.com/9Yiyepuvs7
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 17, 2023
When you read “Matrix Resurrection,” the first immediate thought is why I would think he hadn’t been Neo the Matrix coming off of his last fight. Well, he wasn’t. It’s not to take away from Jamaine Ortiz’s (16-1-1) performance as he fought his heart out in October. It was just not the Loma we were used to seeing. Lomachenko wasn’t in there clowning his opponent with ridiculous footwork and movement. He was getting touched up to the face and had a look of concern that we aren’t used to seeing. This fight is entirely different as the stakes are higher, and maybe Loma needed to be reminded, like Neo was in this last Matrix movie, that although he may look and feel different, he is still the guy who won titles in three different weight classes. In saying all that, I think we see the old Loma but just in the body of an older Loma.
Lomachenko will go down as an all-time great when it’s all said and done. We will see the best of Lomachenko against Haney, but will it be enough to beat the younger, faster-undisputed champion? I don’t think anyone can answer that question right now, but one thing is for sure, the Matrix Resurrection will happen. The question is whether it will be enough to earn the undisputed crown.
DEVIN HANEY VS. VASILIY LOMACHENKO PREDICTION
This is a tough fight to call, as it could go a few different ways. When it is all said and done, this is the moment that Haney desperately wants, and he will be at his very best when the lights are the brightest on Saturday night. The fight will go twelve rounds, and when the scorecards are read, Haney will emerge victorious and retain his undisputed title. Haney wins by majority decision.
For the crown.
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 17, 2023
For the legacy.
Three more days. #HaneyLoma pic.twitter.com/5YlT7aRb0p
DEVIN HANEY VS. VASILIY LOMACHENKO BETTING ODDS
Per BetOnline.ag, Devin Haney is the favorite at -250, and Vasiliy Lomachenko is the underdog at +210.
Devin Haney: Decision -160; TKO/KO +475
Draw: +1600
Vasiliy Lomachenko: Decision +340; TKO/KO +700
THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE KING.
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 15, 2023
Welcome to #HaneyLoma fight week ♟️ pic.twitter.com/KhkPBzL5CZ
DEVIN HANEY VS. VASILIY LOMACHENKO DATE, START TIME
- Date: Saturday, May 20
- Start time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT
- Main event ringwalks (approx): 12 a.m. ET / 9 p.m. PT
These timings could change due to the length of the undercard fights.
WHAT CHANNEL/STREAM IS DEVIN HANEY VS. VASILIY LOMACHENKO?
- U.S.: ESPN+ PPV ($59.99)
DEVIN HANEY VS. VASILIY LOMACHENKO CARD
- Devin Haney vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko; For Haney's IBF, WBA, WBC, and WBO world lightweight titles
- Junto Nakatani vs. Andrew Maloney; For the vacant WBO world super flyweight title
- Raymond Muratalla vs. Jeremia Nakathila; lightweight
- Oscar Valdez vs. Adam Lopez; super featherweight
