Devin Haney bristles at the remarks the fans and media have been making about Vasily Lomachenko being old and on the downside of his career.
Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) insists that the 35-year-old Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) is still young and, in fact, younger than Terence Crawford, who no one is saying is old.
The unbeaten Haney will be defending his undisputed lightweight championship against the former three-division world champion Lomachenko on May 20th on ESPN+ PPV at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“Terence Crawford is older than Loma. Is he old? No. They’re not saying he’s old, so don’t say Loma is old,” said Devin Haney to the media when asked about the age of the 35-year-old Lomachenko.
“He’s old because he’s fighting me. Just a year ago, he wasn’t old, but now he’s old because he’s fighting me. He got old overnight. No, it doesn’t work like that.
“When I win, I want the world to give me my just due. Put him #1 on your pound-for-pound list. Put him above me on the pound-for-pound list. Talk about how great he is and how close he is to Muhammad Ali and this and that.
“Remember all the stuff the media said. Remember that on May 20th, I want the world to give me my just due. I want the world to acknowledge how great of a fighter I am.
“They’re both good fighters. We got to see,” said Haney when asked about the Ryan Garcia vs. Gervonta Davis fight. “They both have that neutralizer, and they both can hurt each other.
“Tank has more experience, and Tank is more proven than Ryan. We got to see. If Ryan were to win, we could possibly get it on at 140. He has trouble making 135, and obviously, the world knows I have trouble making 135. So maybe we can do it at 140, but even at 135, we can do it. No rehydration, I’ll never do that.
“Obviously, they got the influencer going on, and Ryan has a big following. Tank has a big following, so it’s a big fight,” said Haney when asked if his fight with Lomachenko is bigger than the Ryan Garcia vs. Gervonta Davis match.
“True boxing followers, boxing writers know this is the real fight. This is the #1 and #2 fighting each other for the king of the division.
“I’ve shown that. I was willing to go to Australia. I was willing to fight Loma. I’ve never ducked or dodged nobody. I’ve been calling out these top guys since I was 18 years old. I was calling out Robert Easter.
“So I am that guy that’s not ducking or dodging nobody. Yeah, of course,” Haney when asked if he would be willing to fight the Tank vs. Ryan winner. “Like I said, I want to make the biggest fights happen in the 135-lb division We got to see. I’ll never do a rehydration clause.
“There have been so many big-time fighters from Mexico. Chavez, and even Canelo. He’s one of the greatest champions. There are so many champions from Mexico.
“Like I said, I want to make the biggest fights happen,” Haney said when asked if he’d be interested in fighting Isaac Cruz. “We can’t talk about the future. We have May 20th right here in front of us. Lomachenko is #2 in the division. I’m #1. It’s #1 and #2 fighting each other.
“It’s a huge fight, legacy fight. I’m excited about it. Let’s see how it goes. What a blessing. He’s going back to Mexico to fight in front of his people. His true day-one fans.
“I would love to go back to Oakland after this fight in front of my fans. A lot of my family get to come and do that. It all starts on May 20th at the MGM Grand,” said Haney.
