By Sam Volz: The Devin Haney vs. Vasily Lomachenko undercard had two fights added today for May 20th on ESPN+ PPV at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Haney-Lomachenko is a good enough match to be worth the PPV money, but adding a couple of fights today will make it more interesting for the fans.
The following fights added:
- Oscar Valdez vs. Adam ‘Blue Nose’ Lopez II in a 10-round co-feature bout
- Raymond Muratalla vs. Jeremia Nakathila
Valdez already fought Adam Lopez four years ago, knocking him out in the seventh round after getting dropped earlier in the fight in the second round.
This tune-up will get the 32-year-old Valdez ready to challenge WBO super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete in his next fight.
Whether Valdez needs a warm-up fight to prepare for Navarrete is debatable, but having him on the Haney-Lomachenko card helps strengthen it, even though it would be better if he were matched against a more formidable opponent than Lopez.
Perhaps the rematch is taking place mainly because the former two-division world champion Valdez (30-1, 23 KOs) lost his last fight to Shakur Stevenson, and he’s been inactive for the last twelve months since then.
Lopez (16-4, 6 is well-known to hardcore boxing fans, and he’s known for having an entertaining fighting style.
Unfortunately, the 26-year-old Lopez is coming off a lopsided 10-round unanimous decision to Abraham Nova last January, and in 2021, he was beaten by Isaac Dogboe by a 10-round majority decision.
Fans on social media ask why Oscar Valdez isn’t fighting Abraham Nova instead of Lopez, but the answer is easy. Nova would be a tough fight for Valdez, and there’s no telling whether he’d win.
To be sure, Nova was easily knocked out by two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez in his last fight, but we’re talking about a different type of talent than Valdez.
Robeisy is a better fighter than Valdez, which is likely why his promoters were willing to make the Nova fight for him, but not for Oscar.
“I’m going to be facing someone that I fought in 2019 in Adam Lopez, an experienced opponent who even sent me to the canvas in the early rounds of our first fight,” said Valdez. I cannot take him lightly, making me train harder now. I must get past this fight to fight the current champion, Emanuel ‘El Vaquero’ Navarrete.”
In the first fight on the pay-per-view portion of the Haney vs. Lomacenko card, lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla (17-0, 14 KOs) will fight the hard-hitting fringe contender Jeremia Nakathila (23-2, 19 KOs) in a 10-round fight that should be entertaining from start to finish.