Devin Haney vows to ‘impose will’ on Vasiliy Lomachenko in title fight

The American defends the undisputed lightweight titles against the Ukrainian on Saturday

Alex Pattle
Combat Sports Correspondent
Thursday 18 May 2023 09:52 BST
Comments
McGregor Forever trailer

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Devin Haney has vowed to ‘impose his will’ on Vasiliy Lomachenko to secure a ‘dominant’ win this weekend.

Haney, 24, defends the undisputed lightweight titles against former multiple-weight champion Lomachenko, 35, in Las Vegas on Saturday (20 May).

The bout marks the American’s second defence of the belts, which he won by outpointing George Kambosos Jr in the Australian’s home country last June. Haney then beat Kambosos Jr in Australia again in October, emerging victorious via decision once more.

Now the unbeaten Haney plans to bolster his resume against an all-time great, and he said on Wednesday (17 May): “I’m going to put on a dominant victory.

“I’m going to go in there and impose my will on Loma and show the world how great Devin Haney really is – how versatile, how strong, how young, and how experienced I am in that ring.

“This is all a dream come true. I thank God for this every day. I watched fighters make their grand arrivals when I was a young kid. This is all a blessing, and I’m excited for Saturday night.”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Lomachenko hit back: “I believe that when you say something, you need to prove it.

“I have a lot of experience in boxing, and anything can happen during a fight. I just think about what I need to do during a fight, and my goal is to become the undisputed champion of the world.

“It will be very, very interesting. We have two different styles.”

Lomachenko (right) beat Jamaine Ortiz on points last time out
Lomachenko (right) beat Jamaine Ortiz on points last time out (AP)

Lomachenko was unified lightweight champion until he suffered a surprise loss to Teofimo Lopez in 2020. Lopez, who outpointed Lomachenko, then dropped the titles to Kambosos Jr via decision in 2021, before Haney dethroned the Australian in a fight for undisputed status.

Lomachenko, who has responded to his loss to Lopez with three straight wins, is also a two-time Olympic champion, having won gold for Ukraine in 2008 and 2012.

Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in