Four-belt lightweight champion Devin ‘The Dream’ Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) vows to neutralize future Hall of Famer Vasily Lomachenko’s best attributes on Saturday to keep him from enjoying the success that he’s been accustomed to having in his fights.
In what appears to be a strategy to alert the referee, Haney has repeatedly mentioned in the last two weeks his belief that Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) is a “dirty fighter,” hits on the break and throws rabbit punches.
By Haney frequently mentioning that Lomachenko, 35, is a dirty fighter, he’s alerting the referee to keep an eye on Loma and police what he’s doing inside the ring this Saturday night. If the referee constantly warns or penalizes Lomachenko, it could throw him off his game enough for Haney to win.
Haney vs. Lomachenko will be shown on Top Rank on ESPN+ PPV this Saturday, May 20th, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The selling price for the event is $59.99, and the PPV portion of the card starts at 10:00 P.M. ET.
“That was the goal to make the biggest fights happen and to have something for people to gain to want to fight me. Now that I have all the belts, my first assignment is to fight a future Hall of Famer with Loma, beating him, being victorious, and then we’ll see what’s next,” said Devin Haney to the media on Tuesday during the Grand Arrivals in Las Vegas for his fight against Vasily Lomachenko on Saturday night.
“Man, all the hard work, all the sacrifice has paid off. Everything is ready for these big fights. I’m happy that I didn’t cut no corners. I took the long route to get here, but it all paid off.
“It’s going to pay off on Saturday night when the world sees how great I am. They’ll see what I bring to the table and that I’m the best fighter in the world.
“I’m much more bigger, more mature, and much more experienced. Back then, Loma was the #1 pound-for-pound; he was the #1 guy. He would have been the favorite, but obviously, I’m the favorite. That just shows you how much better I’ve gotten since then.
“Like I said, he can watch a bunch more films on me. I got a lot more tools than just a jab. But like I said, I feel he’s a dirty fighter. I feel like he tries to fight dirty, and he tries to hit you on the break, hit you behind the head, and stuff like that.
“He has the right to feel how he feels, and I’ve got a right to feel how I feel. May the best man win. I’m going to go in and handicap him of his best attributes.
“I know the stuff that he doesn’t like, and he’s going to try and do the same things as me. Let’s see who’s victorious in that,” said Haney.
