Vasyl Lomachenko and his team are preparing to lodge an appeal with the Nevada State Athletic Commission after he was denied victory by the controversial scores awarded in favour of Devin Haney at the end of their undisputed lightweight title fight.
The 35 year old produced one of the finest victories of an already decorated career when, despite being 11 years older than and significantly smaller than the undefeated Haney, he largely edged a remarkably competitive and high-quality fight.
Scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113 were regardless announced in Haney’s favour, to the objection of most of the 14,436 in attendance at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand, and the Ukrainian’s manager Egis Klimas said: “This is the biggest robbery in the middle of the day. For the other team, Christmas came in the summer.
“We’re not going to let it go. I guarantee you we’re going to protest; we’re going to appeal that decision. Somebody needs to end this injustice. Somebody needs boxing put in the place it has to be. It has to be adjusted.
Asked if that meant they hoped that a rematch would be ordered, he responded: “They’re not going to give a rematch.”
“I think it was the last fight Haney wanted to fight [at 135lbs],” Lomachenko then said.
“During the whole fight I controlled the fight. All fight I understand – [I’m] winning this fight. So for me it was a big surprise when [after] 12 rounds – I was sure I won this fight. But it is what it is.
“I controlled this fight. I controlled every round. For me, it’s a big, big question. ‘What happened – in the result today?’
“My father always taught me – you need to win without question. [But] you forget, [Haney’s] bigger than me.
“One hundred per cent I don’t lose this fight. One time [in the fight] I had a bad situation, but I understand I need to continue my strategy and focus on my strategy.
“If you’re talking about [Jorge] Linares, if you’re talking about [Teofimo] Lopez, they are better than Haney.
When they were asked about the fact that Dave Moretti, the ringside judge who scored 116-112 in Haney’s favour and who scored the 10th round, perhaps Lomachenko’s most convincing, to Haney, Klimas responded: “We protested [his involvement] to the commission, and the commissioner told, ‘He’s one of my best judges’. That proved [otherwise] today again.”
Lomachenko had been pictured sobbing, post-fight, in his dressing room, and when asked why, he said: “I remembered my son today, called me several times, and every time told me, ‘Hey, and the new, and the new’. I remembered this moment and it was very hard for me.”
Bob Arum, who continues to promote Lomachenko and whose terms with Haney concluded at the final bell, said: “Everybody around me – all the fans around me who were neutral – thought it was a pretty one-sided fight for Lomachenko, so everybody was stunned when the scorecards were read.”
