Undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney captured a close (some might say controversial) victory over “sweet science” nemesis Vasiliy Lomachenko in their pay-per-view (PPV) headliner last weekend in Las Vegas, keeping “The Dream” perfect at 30-0.
So why the chip on his shoulder?
In addition to the media’s narrative that Lomachenko may have been robbed by the ringside judges, Haney had to fork over $400,000 for a violent, pre-fight shove (see it here) that forced “The Matrix” to seek medical assistance to make sure he was still cleared to compete.
“This guy is a fucking sore loser,” Haney wrote on social media. “Get this privileged sore loser out of boxing, he makes excuses as he goes! Take your loss like a man and stop crying. It was set up for you to win for the third time in your career and you failed! Tell the commission give me my $400k back for that push!”
Pre-fight shoves during press conferences and weigh ins is nothing new in combat sports but this is by far the harshest punishment I’ve seen over the last few years. That said, there is no point of reference in MMA, which remains the Wild West of fighter face offs.
In fact, UFC celebrates this kind of behavior.
No word yet on whether or not Haney will rematch Lomachenko or move on to face a new opponent. “The Matrix” hasn’t been seen on social media for more than a year so we’ll just have to wait on updates from promoters, who will no doubt be looking to capitalize on the persisting beef.