Undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney looked 3 divisions larger than challenger Vasily Lomachenko today during their kickoff press conference to announce their twelve-round headliner fight on May 20th on ESPN+ PPV at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Sporting a pair of sunglasses, looking like a character from the Al Pacino movie ‘Scarface,’ Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) towered over the short & much lighter-looking Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) when the two stood for the face-off. It’s unclear why Haney chose to wear sunglasses the entire time, aside from perhaps it made him appear menacing and a Hollywood actor.
It will be interesting to see if Haney can make the 135-lb weight limit on May 19th without it draining him for the fight with Loma. In Haney’s last two fights last year against George Kambosos Jr, he looked like a zombie. Haney looked so drained that it was scary and worrisome about his health.
When interviewed after, Haney appeared defensive at all times, like he had a massive chip on his shoulder for some reason.
“I’m going to turn all the non-believers into believers on May 20th,” said Devin Haney to Fighthype about his title defense against Vasily Lomachenko. “Remember what y’all said. This was the guy that y’all chose. I didn’t choose him. This is the guy that y’all chose.
“Stay choosing him, but on May 20th, choose me when I’m victorious,” Haney said. “He’s not old, he’s 35 years old. Bud [Crawford] is 35-years-old. He’s not old,” Devin said when asked what will boxing fans say about the advanced age of Lomachenko.
“How is he old? How old was Floyd when he beat Canelo? 36. Was he old? No. I’m young. Why aren’t y’all saying, ‘This guy is young?’
“The Hispanic fanbase has been supporting me since forever. I started my career in Tijuana. A lot of the people I met in Tijuana, they still support me to this day.
“Canelo picked me to beat Loma? That’s great. I didn’t know that. I like Benavidez, and I like Canelo. I think that’s a great fight for boxing. I would love to see it.
“I’m blessed to be here. It’s a dream come true. I knew I would be here one day, and the time has come. Now it’s time for me to beat these top guys. Line them up one by one.
“It puts me at #1,” said Haney when asked where he’ll be on the pound-for-pound list if he defeats Lomachenko on May 20th. “This is the guy you chose. This was the #1. This was this; this was ‘The Matrix.’ He was untouchable, everything. Do y’all remember that?
“Okay, so stay right there because, after that, I want y’all to give me my credit as a young guy, 24 years old. I didn’t have to fight Loma. I didn’t have to take the fight, but guess what? This is my legacy. I wanted to prove myself.
“Everybody I called out, and they actually wanted to fight me, I fought them. I don’t have to fight Lomachenko, but guess what? I do; this is something for me. This is something internally that I really wanted, and now is the time,” said Haney.