By Jake Donovan
OCTOBER 15, 2022
Source: Boxing Scene
Photo Source: Boxing Scene
The one fight that Devin Haney sought all along to become champion could be next in queue for the undisputed lightweight king.
Talks of an eventual showdown with Vasiliy Lomachenko (16-2, 11KOs) have swirled for months and now appear closer than ever. Haney and Lomachenko will both have to win separate fights this month, which is the primary reason why such a matchup won’t even be considered until present-day business is settled.
“A fight with Lomachenko definitely excites me,” Haney told BoxingScene.com, while clarifying where his true priorities lie. “It’s a fight that all starts with a win October 15th. Once I win my fight and if he wins his fight, we’ll just have to see what’s next.”
The only thing that’s next for Haney (28-0, 15KOs) is a rematch with former lineal and unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. (20-1, 10KOs). The two collide this weekend at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne (Saturday, ESPN, 10:30 p.m. ET), a little more than four months after Haney dominated Kambosos to fully unify the lightweight division.
That fight also took place in Melbourne, with Haney facing a partisan crowd of 41,129 at Marvel Stadium. The opportunity came about only after Lomachenko was forced to withdraw from a previously accepted fight with Kambosos who was an unbeaten lineal/WBA ‘Super/IBF/WBO lightweight champ at the time. The agreed-upon clash came just as Russia began its invasion of Lomachenko’s native Ukraine, with Martial Law forcing the two-time Olympic Gold medalist and former three-division titlist to serve in a defense battalion.
It was a fitting plot twist, considering that Haney previously sought a shot at Lomachenko back when he still held the WBC/WBA/WBO lightweight titles. Haney earned the interim WBC title following a one-sided, fourth-round stoppage of Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev in their September 2019 battle of unbeaten lightweights at Madison Square Garden Hulu Theater in New York City. Haney’s interim belt was upgraded to full title status roughly six weeks later, after Lomachenko—through Top Rank—accepted WBC ‘Franchise’ title status in exchange for giving up the physical belt.
The move killed any shot at a Lomachenko-Haney title fight at the time, further torched after Lomachenko dropped a twelve-round decision to then-unbeaten IBF titlist Teofimo Lopez in their October 2020 unification bout.
The matchup has now made its way back into the realm of possibility, furthermore with Haney currently co-promoted by Top Rank (along with DiBella Entertainment) who has served as Lomachenko’s career-long promoter. Haney will have to repeat against Kambosos, while Lomachenko will have to get past streaking Jamaine Ortiz on October 29 at Hulu Theater, a fight for which Haney plans to be ringside—and only then will discuss the possibility of it being next on his list.
“Honestly. I’m taking it one fight at a time,” insisted Haney. “We’ll see how everything flows after this one.”
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