Haney vs. Lomachenko = “too close” to be robbery – Chris Algieri

By Boxing News - 05/23/2023 - Comments

By Chris Williams: Former light welterweight champion Chris Algieri disagrees with the many fans that view undisputed lightweight champ Devin Haney’s win over Vasyl Lomachenko as a robbery last Saturday night.

Algieri points out that many rounds were close and could have gone either way. Haney’s body punching and his superior power on his shots was key to him winning a lot of the rounds.

Lomachenko looked much smaller than Haney, appearing two divisions below the hulking champion.

Haney’s rehydrated weight wasn’t revealed during the ESPN broadcast of the fight, but it wouldn’t be a shock if he was around 155. That’s massive for a lightweight. In comparison, Lomachenko looked no bigger than 138, and he lacked the si

Unfortunately for Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs), he waited too long before turning up the heat on Haney (30-0, 15 KOs), and he gave away a lot of the first eight rounds.

Haney-Lomachenko wasn’t a robbery

“Everyone freaking out about this being some type of robbery. The fight was too close. How mad are you going to get?” said Chris Algieri to Inside Boxing Live, reflecting on last Saturday’s fight between Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko.

“Inside the ring, I thought Loma won, but I looked at my scorecard, and it was a draw. I think you got to look at those body shots [from Haney]. They were consistent, they were hard, and a lot of the punches that Lomachenko was landing, they were pot shots.

“Haney’s head got popped back, but they weren’t really hard, damaging shots. I got the feeling from being in the arena that Loma is a much, much smaller guy that wasn’t throwing with bad intentions. His punches weren’t landing like they were thunderous.

“It was a close fight. If you had Loma winning, I get it. If you had a draw, I get it. If you had Haney winning closely, I get it. The scorecards weren’t crazy. Robberies are obvious. This wasn’t obvious,” said Algieri.

Haney’s body punching won him the fight

“It was a modern classic. The body punching probably won Haney the fight,” said Dan Canobbio. “I was equally surprised as you were. Half of his connects were body shots. I do agree with you. Haney looked huge, and Loma looked small.

“A lot of Loma’s punches looked like arm punches. They didn’t look like they were scoring, but they were so damn precise, and they were coming from angles where you didn’t see them coming, and they were catching Haney off guard left and right.

“Every round was close beside the last three, which was a big reason why fans at home thought Lomachenko won the fight because it was the last thing they saw. The final three rounds.

“In the tenth round, Lomachenko outlands him 11-5. You can take a look at the round. I thought that was a clear round for Lomachenko. Dave Moretti scores it for Haney. I don’t know how. Moretti needs to say ‘goodnight’ and ‘goodbye.’

“The final three rounds. 44-18 connects for Lomachenko. I thought he came on late. Those first eight or nine rounds were razor-thin. This was equally matched up guys, even though 35 and 24 [age difference] and one guy who is so much bigger than the other in Haney.

“It was a modern-day classic. It’s a great back-and-forth classic at the edge of your seat. I could just feel it in the arena. Haney-Loma was for the purists. It was such an awesome fight. I wish there was 12 more rounds.”

Devin won’t receive credit for victory

“It kind of sucks for Haney because he gets the win, but I don’t think he’s going to get the full credit,” said Canobbio. “I was just reading through the comments, and the majority of the people think Lomachenko won that fight; even Bradley said it in the post-fight.”

“Listen, he’s getting the paycheck, and he’s got all the belts,” said Algieri about Haney. “He can cry all the way to the bank. He just beat a Hall of Famer, and he said it. He’s in the books for beating Lomachenko, who is one of the best fighters of our generation.

“It’s not a robbery in the sense where we’re going to go back and overturn the decision. No. People like Lomacheenko. He’s a very nice guy. He comes off as humble, and he’s got the whole Ukrainian thing.

“Haney became a big heel during the build-up to this fight. He became very unlikeable during the lead-up to this fight, but I think that was his own doing. They wanted that,” said Algieri.

“Do you think Lomachenko did enough late? There weren’t many demonstrative rounds, but the demonstrative rounds that there were went to Loma, I thought, especially 10 and 11,” said Canobbio.

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