Devin Haney says his promoters at Top Rank have three locations they’re looking at for him to defend his undisputed lightweight championship against Vasyl Lomachenko in a fight that might be delayed until May.
Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) says the locations for the Loma fight are as follows: “Saudi Arabia, New York MSG, or Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena.”
Ideally, Haney would prefer to fight the former three-division world champion Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) before Ramadan begins in March, but if he has to wait until May, so be it.
For Lomachenko, it makes sense for the fight to take place in May because he needs time to prepare for this match-up. Loma didn’t look good in his last fight against Jamaine Ortiz on October 29th in, coming off a long 10-month layoff due to the war in his home country.
If Top Rank is unable to set up the Haney-Lomachenko fight for whatever reason, then they’ve got Shakur Stevenson, that can step in to challenge Haney for his undisputed championship.
That would be better for Top Rank because the 25-year-old Stevenson is better suited to deal with Haney’s light welterweight-sized frame than the smaller, older 34-year-old Lomachenko.
With Haney’s promotional deal with Top Rank about to end, the company should have Shakur fight him than it is Lomachenko because stands a better chance of winning. If you’re Top Rank, you want to have the four titles Haney has go to one of their fighters before his contract is up.
“My career has changed from last year to this year. Last time around this time, I was email champ. This time around, I’m undisputed. So it’s a blessing,” said Devin Haney to Thaboxingvoice.
“He was definitely a lot smaller than I thought he was, but a lot of people say he’s not a real lightweight,” said Haney about Vasyl Lomachenko about his thoughts on Loma when the two met inside the ring after the Jamaine Ortiz fight on October 29th at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“He’s a smaller guy. The lightweight division is not really his class, but he’s also been winning at the weight. So you can’t say that. Who was his first fight at 135? Luke Campbell? I think it was Campbell.
“He’s been at this weight class for a long time now. So no matter if they say he’s small for the weight or not, he’s had time to set in. He might be a master to Bob [Arum], but he’s not a master to me,” said Haney when told that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum sees Lomachenko as a “master” boxer.
“He’s a fighter just like me; he’s a human just like me. I will show that he’s no master. It was a good meeting,” said Haney about his meeting with Arum last week to discuss the Lomachenko fight.
“I’m willing to fight whenever, wherever. I said this numerous times. I should have the say and the power to determine when and where I fight, and me being a champion and already taking the short end of the stick, going across the pond or down under.
“Not once but twice for his terms. I really didn’t have to, but this is the sort of boxing. These promoters and these networks, they have the say for real. As much as the fighters wish we did have a say, what can we do? I love to fight.
“No matter when it is, I’m going to be victorious; whether it’s March, May, whenever, and wherever, I’m going to be ready. I would love to do it before `Ramadan so that I could do Ramadan and stay on my game.
“Do whatever it takes to prove to my God that I’m dedicated. What can we do? If it’s his plan for me to fight in May, then I’ll fight in May.
“There are three candidates to do it right now. Saudi Arabia, New York MSG, or Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena. So we’re waiting,” said Haney about the potential locations for his fight with Lomachenko.
“It was a big year for me. Things changed for me so much. I didn’t see all this happening so fast. Even though I was prepared for it, it wasn’t looking so good around this time last year.
“He came back from the warzone, and that was a lot to come from,” said Haney about Vasyl Lomachenko. “His performance [against Jamaine Ortiz] wasn’t the best performance, but he also fought a guy that a lot of people didn’t really know.
“Maybe, he couldn’t get up for him as much as he would have for one of the top guys. But at the same time, Ortiz put up a great fight; he fought a good fight. They sparred numerous times, I think. So, I think he kind of knew what to expect. He even looked like he know what Loma would give, and it showed,” said Haney.