By Dan Ambrose: Oscar De La Hoya says Vasyl Lomachenko clearly deserved the victory last weekend against undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney.
De La Hoya says he was at ringside, watching the action closely, and he says that Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) landed the cleaner, more effective punches against the younger and much larger fighter Haney (30-0, 15 KOs).
When asked if it’s reasonable to expect Haney to give Lomachenko a rematch, De La Hoya points out that Devin has a hard time making the 135 limit, and he needs to move up to 140 to be easier on his body.
Haney will likely stay at 135 to try and get the Gervonta Davis payday, but if that fight isn’t available, he’ll drop the belts and move up to 140 to avoid fighting Shakur Stevenson.
It’s pretty obvious that Haney wants no part in fighting Shakur. In other words, he knows his limitations as a fighter. When Haney moves up to 140, there are two guys he’ll surely avoid: Regis Prograis and Subriel Matias. They hit too hard and would take advantage of Haney’s weak chin.
Haney is a good fighter when matched against technical guys with moderate power, but he’s not cut out for taking on killers like Gervonta, Prograis, and Matias.
“I was right there looking. I’ve never paid attention to a fight the way I did to that fight because it was the undisputed championship. So I had to be there in the front row center, and I was watching. Nobody can disturb me. I was just watching every single second,” said Oscar De La Hoya to Fight Hub TV about the Haney vs. Lomachenko contest.
“Hands down, Lomachenko won. There’s no doubt about it. You can make all the fuss in the world. He landed more effective punches. He threw more combinations. It was incredible. At his age, what he did to a young Haney was unbelievable.
“I can see the fans being frustrated, but I can also understand what the judges got through because when they see an angle, they’re watching from a different point of view, or maybe they see a round that’s super close that can go either way, and they give it to the other guy.
“It all depends on where you’re at, what angle, who you’re rooting for, who you’re influenced by. That all depends on everything. I just felt it was very biased going into this fight because both fighters are great, and I came out with the conclusion that Lomachenko won.
“I had it like Shakur Stevenson. He had it 8-4. I could have got it 7-5, 8-4 at worse, but yeah, that’s just the way it was.
“I’m sure there has to be, and people are demanding it, but look. The truth of the matter is Haney is a big kid. He has trouble making weight; he’s drained. So maybe that could have affected him a bit because Haney is a tremendous fighter.
“I love his style. I love what he was doing. Boxing, aggressive, and holding back, and his IQ is unbelievable. So maybe the weight is too much for him, who knows? Therefore, we won’t see a rematch.
“We’ll see the best division, 140 pounds in recent years all go up against each other. We’re talking about the Haney’s, and we’re talking about Ryan Garcia. You can’t exclude Tank Davis. All these guys are going to move to 140.
“They’re all going to chase Ryan Garcia. Ryan Garcia is the ticket-seller, and Ryan Garcia will be the man if he moves up to 140. When he moves up, you watch. Everyone else is going to go follow him,” said De La Hoya.
