To some, the decision was controversial; for others, it was fine, but in the end, Devin Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) retained his undisputed lightweight crown with a controversial unanimous decision victory against Vasiliy Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Judge Dave Moretti scored the fight 116-112; Tim Cheathem and David Sutherland both had it 115-113.
This fight had many close rounds. You could have scored this fight in so many different ways. The two definitive rounds were Rounds 10 and 11, and those rounds clearly were Lomachenko rounds. However, Moretti gave Round 10 to Haney.
Going into Round 12, Lomachenko trailed on all three scorecards. By three points on Moretti’s card and one point on the other two cards, so if Lomachenko won the 12th round, he would have walked away with a majority draw. Haney appeared to have won the 12th round, but it was close again, like most of the rounds.
After 12 rounds, Lomachenko(124/564), who fought hard from start to finish, threw more punches and outlanded Haney110/405). Throughout the fight, Lomachenko had success in landing combination punches, and Haney had success with his jab and going to the body.
Haney said the following after the win:
“Lomachenko is a future Hall of Famer. It was a blessing. He was my toughest opponent by far. He is very crafty, and we put on a great fight for the fans.
“He’s a crafty fighter. He turns it up in the championship rounds. I just have to take my hat off to him. He’s a great fighter.
“This is all experience. Me and my team are going to go back to the house, watch the fight and reflect on it. I’ve been at 135 for a long, long time. This is my 30th fight. I’ve been here at 135 since I was 16 years old. We’re going to go back to the lab and figure out what’s next.”
