It’s official: Devin Haney will defend his undisputed light-weight championship in opposition to Vasiliy Lomachenko on Saturday, Might 20, headlining a High Rank pay-per-view on ESPN+.
Haney (29-0, 15 KO) and Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KO) have some historical past, and it’s stuff that makes this struggle a bit spicier than it simply being the 2 finest fighters presently working at 135 lbs.
Again in 2019, High Rank campaigned for Lomachenko, then the WBA and WBO light-weight titlist, to face Luke Campbell for the vacant WBC title. This was in opposition to WBC guidelines, however boxing has no guidelines until it truly desires to, and sanctioning our bodies are particularly responsible of this. As a result of Lomachenko is a star fighter, he was allowed to struggle for the vacant WBC title regardless of holding belts with different sanctioning our bodies.
After he received, Lomachenko was imagined to face Haney, who beat Zaur Abdullaev for the WBC’s interim title all of two weeks after Lomachenko vs Campbell. As an alternative, Lomachenko opted to be named “franchise champion,” a WBC distinction that has solely been doled out twice, as soon as to Canelo Alvarez at middleweight, after which to Lomachenko at light-weight. In each circumstances, it was so the star fighter wouldn’t truly need to cope with a compulsory order they only didn’t need, for one cause or one other.
Canelo by no means returned to middleweight after a Might 2019 win over Daniel Jacobs. Lomachenko, after all, continued to struggle at light-weight, and the WBC — which by no means meant for “franchise” titles to be defended — allowed Lomachenko to “defend” that title in opposition to Teofimo Lopez, making for his or her 2020 struggle to be marketed as “undisputed.”
In the meantime, Haney had been elevated to full titleholder standing within the lineage of the particular WBC light-weight title, the identical as Jermall Charlo had been at middleweight when Canelo was named “franchise champion.”
Lopez and Haney, after all, had their social media disputes about which belt was most legitimate, and each side have their arguments. Lopez will ceaselessly declare he was undisputed champion, as will George Kambosos Jr, the person Haney beat twice final 12 months to, nonetheless you have a look at it, totally unify the division with out every other questions.
Shut up in regards to the IBO. I get it.
Now, three-and-a-half years later, Haney and Lomachenko will lastly meet, however whereas most would have picked Lomachenko over Haney in 2019 or early 2020, that received’t be the case this time.
Now 24, Haney has matured into one of many sport’s prime younger fighters, whereas Lomachenko, now 35, is into the again stretch of his profession. He’s received three straight since dropping to Lopez in 2020, however there have been some questions from his Oct. 2022 win over Jamaine Ortiz, too. Whereas Lomachenko remains to be a transparent contender and deserves to be referred to as the No. 2 man at 135 proper now, does he nonetheless have sufficient to beat a naturally larger, youthful man with top-level expertise?
Haney, once more, fairly properly dominated Kambosos twice in 2022, however it will positively be the largest struggle of his profession when it comes to highlight and advertising and marketing and all that. It’s an opportunity for him to fairly totally put a stamp on this division, and if he wins, probably transfer as much as 140, the place the sphere is crowded, proficient, and thrilling, and he’d be a direct participant.
Two fights reported for the undercard up to now are Junto Nakatani vs Andrew Moloney for the vacant WBO junior bantamweight title, and Raymond Muratalla stepping it up a bit in opposition to Jeremiah Nakathila.
