Devin Haney returned to the squared circle to defend his undisputed lightweight championship against former unified lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Haney (29-0) unified all four major titles with a win over George Kambosos Jr. in June 2022. After successfully defending the titles against Kambosos Jr. in a rematch four months later, Haney turned his attention to Lomachenko (17-2) as the two headlined a Top Rank Boxing event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Things remained fairly competitive through the first three rounds with Lomachenko putting his power on display in the opening round as Devin Haney struggled to get started. Things changed in the second as Lomachenko began to slow down a bit, perhaps preserving his gas tank for the later rounds. Haney took advantage, getting busier than he did in the previous three minutes and attacking the body of Lomachenko. Haney continued working the body in the third, but Lomachenko kept moving forward, bringing pressure and staying heavy on the attack up top.
Both men stuck to their respective game plans, in what turned out to be a highly competitive back-and-forth contest. After nine rounds of intense action, Lomachenko began to take over, noticeably hurting Haney in the tenth. The tide continued turning in the eleventh as Haney attempted to respond with power that he simply does not have. Going into the final round, Lomachenko stayed on the prowl as Haney emptied what was left in his gas tank. Haney did an excellent job of maintaining distance and tagging Lomachenko as he attempted to move in
Haney likely won the twelfth found on the scorecards, but would it be enough to secure a victory after the onslaught of strikes he ate in the previous two rounds?
Official Result: Devin Haney def. Vasiliy Lomachenko via unanimous decision (116-112, 115-113, 115-113)