By Adam Baskin: Devin Haney is still bitter about Vasily Lomachenko making him wait four years to face him, and because of that, he’s built up a lot of dislike for him.
Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) says he wants to make Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) feel that he’s felt by beating him badly and sending him into retirement on May 20th when the two battle on ESPN PPV at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Devin could have a difficult time attempting to accomplish his goal because he’s not a huge puncher, and he won’t be able to send Loma into retirement if he uses the same game plan that he employed in his last four fights against George Kambosos Jr, Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz, and Jorge Linares.
Jabbing & clinching nonstop won’t get the job done for Haney if he wants to defeat Lomachenko because that style is too simple, and Loma will find a way to win rounds by landing telling shots that will impress the judges.
Haney needs to cleanse himself of the ugly spoiling that he’s come to rely on to win fights during his professional career and learn how to sit down on his punches and refrain from the excessive tie-ups he uses.
He’s got the size to beat smaller lightweights like Lomachenko, Gervonta Davis, and Shakur Stevenson, but his offense is too simplistic.
Haney needs to fire whatever trainer taught him to fight the way he does because it’s a style that won’t help him defeat Lomachenko or any of the other killers at 135.
Haney wants to retire Lomachenko
“He made me wait four years to fight him since I was 20 years old. So I don’t like Loma,” said Devin Haney to Blood, Sweat & Tears at Top Rank Boxing. “I want to beat him bad. I want to send him into retirement.
“Loma has never been an underdog. This time he’s fighting a champion, and he’s fighting a bigger guy, a stronger guy, faster guy, younger guy. The odds are stacked against him,” Haney continued.
“I go to bed with this dream; I wake up with this dream,” Lomachenko said about his goal of becoming undisputed lightweight champion by defeating Haney.
“What happened in my life. I lose these three belts, but I win much more bigger than these three belts. For me, it was very, very good. I understand it now,” said Lomachenko on his loss to Teofimo Lopez in 2020. “Now, I start to live a second life as a different man.
“Before, I was a man that wanted to take a world. Inside, my ego was very big. A lot of people didn’t see this, but after this loss, I started to see myself, and I started changing after this moment. Everything happens in time. Maybe it was not my time,” Lomachenko said.
Lomachenko refuses to give up on goal
“After the loss to [Teofimo] Lopez, I could go down and fight [at super featherweight], but I can’t because I lost at lightweight,” Lomachenko continued. “I need to continue at lightweight to follow my goal. I can’t change it. To me, it looks like you’re weak.
“I still have my speed, my power, my conditioning. I was very close to this goal. Now, I have a second chance, but I have a second chance to take this goal as a different man,” said Lomachenko.
“My focus is to be one of the greats, one of the best ever,” said Haney. “Legacy is definitely important to me. I won’t stop until my name lives on longer than I ever will until my name is mentioned among the greatest in the sport of boxing.
“I want my name to be mentioned forever, and with every fight, I’m one step closer to that. When I set out to do this, I didn’t want to be mediocre. I didn’t want to be just another boxer. I wanted to be the best. I don’t fight for money. I fight for legacy, and that’s what separates me from other fighters today.
“I don’t see people that fight for legacy. I see fighters that fight for clout fight for money. They fight for the wrong things, but I’m a different type of fighter. I’m a throwback fighter. I want to be known as a man’ man. A man that lives on principles.
“I don’t want to be remembered for just boxing because one day boxing won’t be here, but I want people to know me as a person and respect me as a person,” said Haney.
War didn’t deter Loma
“Boxing for Loma is like riding a bicycle,” said manager Egis Klimas. “He jumps in the ring in preparation, goes through the sparring, and it comes back to his mind. Loma doesn’t just want to fight. ‘I want to fight the real champion. I wanted to fight the real guy.’
“You can’t just jump in and fight for the undisputed. You’ve got to go through a lot of guys and a lot of fights, and that is what happened,” said Klimas.
“You can’t do anything when war comes to your country, to your house. It’s not right, I think,” said Lomachenko. “I just trying to defend my family, my house, and our country. It’s a simple decision for people that lost their country, who lost your home and your family and your people.
“You don’t think about your four belts for the undisputed world championship. No, you never think about this. Now, I start thinking about my family, my kids. When they grow up. How it’s going to be and where they’re going to be, and who they’re going to be. Now this is part of my goal,” said Lomachenko.
