By Dan Ambrose: Bob Arum says he would be interested in a fight between Vasily Lomachenko and Devin Haney if Teofimo Lopez chooses to go up to 140 rather than stay at 135 to take on Devin.
WBC lightweight champion Haney (26-0, 15 KOs) would like to face Teofimo (16-0, 12 KOs) for the undisputed championship next, but if Teo chooses to go up to 140 to take on Josh Taylor for all four belts, it will give Lomachenko a chance to fight Devin.
Arum says he would like to stage the Lomachenko vs. Haney fight on December 11th at Madison Square Garden in New York. However, Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs) must first win his fight against contender Masayoshi Nakatani (19-1, 10 KOs) on June 26th.
If Lomachenko beats Nakatani, there’s a possibility that Loma can challenge Haney for his WBC belt if Teofimo elects to move up to 140 to battle IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO champion Josh Taylor for the undisputed championship.
Although Teofimo has talked lately about wanting to take on Haney next after he defends against George Kambosos Jr on June 19th, you never know.
Teofimo might change his mind about fighting Haney and instead go up to 140 for the bigger fight against Taylor. For Teofimo, he’ll get more credit for beating Josh Taylor (18-0, 13 KO) than he will Haney.
Arum likes Lomachenko vs. Haney in December
“Let’s say Teofimo is going to go the 140 lb route, that leaves Lomachenko looking for a dance partner, and that would be an interesting fight, Devin Haney and Lomachenko,” said Bob Arum to Fighthype.
“We won’t have the time constraints with Lomachenko because if he has to fight in December, that would be fine.
“There’s a date that we’re looking for a big fight, and that’s December 11th because that’s the Heisman Trophy, so we’d be in Madison Square Garden, and that would be a good fight for the Garden,” Arum said about a match between Lomachenko and Haney.
Lomachenko vs. Haney would be an excellent fight, as it would let the boxing public get a chance to see how good Devin is. We’ve heard the bragging from Haney and his father, Bill Haney, but he still hasn’t faced an elite guy.
Haney struggled against 35-year-old Jorge Linares last month on May 29th, and he was lucky to escape the fight without getting knocked out.
Lomachenko has a tough fight against Nakatani
“[Masayoshi] Nakatani is for real, looking what he did with [Felix] Verdejo, and he also gave Teofimo fits,” said Arum about Masayoshi Nakatani being a threat to Lomachenko for their June 26th fight on ESPN.
“Nakatani is real. I give Lomachenko credit. Loma would never take a tomato can or an easy fight.
“It remains to be seen, he’s not getting any younger,” Arum said when asked if Lomachenko will beat Nakatani.
“He’s confident, and he was here May 22nd in Vegas for the Taylor-Ramirez fight. I talked to him [Lomachenko], and they’re working hard and we’ll see what we see on the 26th of June.
“Any promoter that will tell you categorically about it is not telling the truth,” Arum said when asked if Lomachenko, 33, is still the same fighter he was in the past.
“You just don’t know until you see him, and that’s why the fights are held so you can actually see. Everything else is just talk,” said Arum.
It’s not a given that Lomachenko will beat the tough-as-nails Nakatani on June 26th.
Nakatani is coming off a knockout win over Felix Verdejo last December, and he fought Teofimo to a standstill in their fight in 2019.
If Lomachenko isn’t 100% healthy after his hard fight with Teofimo last October, he’ll lose to Nakatani. In other words, this isn’t a guy that Lomachenko can beat fighting with one arm.
