By Dan Ambrose: Devin Haney feels that he’s NOT too big for Vasily Lomachenko, and he feels that it’s just an excuse that is being made to keep him from receiving the credit after he beat him on May 20th in Las Vegas.
Many people in the boxing world view Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) as a perfect textbook example of a ‘weight bully,’ a fighter that should be campaigning at 147 but chooses to drain down to 135 to have a massive, unworldly size advantage of his opposition after he rehydrates to near 160.
That’s the weight that welterweights rehydrate to after they make the 147-lb limit. So for Haney to be doing it while coming at 135 gives an idea of what kind of size advantage he has over his opponents.
Haney is training for the title defense of his undisputed lightweight championship against #1 WBC Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) on May 20 on ESPN+ PPV at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“I never missed weight in my life. I don’t plan on missing weight ever in my career. So they can talk about how big I am and this and that. On weigh-in day, I always show up as a professional and make the weight,” said Devin Haney to the media.
“Tank has missed weight, and he can talk about weight, but he’s the wrong person to say anything. Loma has fought bigger guys, taller guys like Luke Campbell and Nakatani with just as long a reach, even taller than me,” Haney continued.
“So, I don’t want to hear nothing about no size advantage or nothing like that. I’m going to beat him because I’m a better fighter, the smarter fighter, and right now, it’s my time.
“It’s definitely an excuse because I make weight just like anybody else,” said Haney about people saying he’s huge for the lightweight division. “What makes it any different? I go in there the day before the fight, and I way in just the same as you. So that shouldn’t be an excuse.
“Skills pay the bills. That weight stuff does not matter,” said Haney when asked what is his walking around weight. “The right weight. It doesn’t matter what my walking around weight is.
“It only matters what I weighed in on that weigh-in day. That’s all that matters. I’m happy that I’m going to get my just due,” said Haney.
