By Don Young: WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney is giving Vasily Lomacheko the word that he’ll be free to fight him in late April or early May of this year.
The two fighters exchanged words on Twitter this week, and it looks like Haney (25-0, 15 KOs) is interested in facing the former three-division world champion Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs).
Haney shows by daring to take on Lomachenko is the difference in courage between him and Teofimo Lopez, who has lost his desire to face Loma again after struggling to win a decision over the Ukrainian fighter last October.
Has Teofimo lost his nerve?
Some boxing fans believe Teofimo is afraid of fighting Lomahenko again, which is why he’s been using the weak excuse for him not including a rematch clause in the contract as the reason why he doesn’t have to face Loma again.
Lomachenko: “@Realdevinhaney What will it give you from what I tell you, whose decision was it? Are you organizing our fight?š§”
Haney: “Iām free end of April or early May. š¤”
Lomachenko fought Teofimo with an injured shoulder and still fought well enough to deserve a draw in many boxing fans’ eyes.
Teofimo fell apart completely in the second half of the contest when Lomachenko suddenly turned it on and battered him at will with shots. It looked like Lomachenko was on his way to a win, but he ran out of rounds.
You can make an argument that if this were an old-fashioned 15-round fight, Lomachenko would have beaten Teofimo. That’s what Ryan Garcia also believes.
Lomachenko’s promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank is all for the Haney fight, and he says he’d “be happy to do that fight.”
This is the fight that Haney needs to propel himself to the #1 spot in the 135-lb division.
If Haney can conclusively beat a HEALTHY Lomachenko, he’ll have shown the boxing world that he’s the top dog in the lightweight division, not IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO champion Teofimo (16-0, 12 KOs).
The courage that Haney has shown by his willingness to take on all comers in the 135-lb division without excuses already sets him apart from Teofimo.
There’s a huge difference between the mindset that Haney is showing to that Teofimo, who has made for why he doesn’t need to fight Lomachenko again.
Further, Teofimo has said the other top lightweights need to earn their spot. Clearly, the win for Teofimo has over an injured Lomachenko last October has gone to his head, giving him grandiose ideas about his future.
Bob Arum loves the Haney vs. Lomachenko fight
“I’d love to do that fight,” said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum to iFL TV about a possible fight between Lomachenko and Haney. “That fight can get done.
“I think Haney has another fight with Eddie Hearn, and after that fight, if Haney wants to fight Lomachenko, I’d be happy to do that fight. That would be a good fight,” said Arum.