You can, perhaps not too surprisingly seeing how they are close friends and both hail from Ukraine, add Oleksandr Usyk’s name to the long list of people who feel Vasiliy Lomachenko was hard done by in his decision loss to Devin Haney. We knew almost as soon as the decision in favour of Haney was read out in Las Vegas that this would be one controversial result that would not go away, that it would be spoken about for some time.
And so it has been the case. You really are hard pressed to find a big name who actually agrees with the UD that went Haney’s way (save for Haney himself of course, and his team). Three-belt heavyweight champ Usyk, who refers to Loma as his “brother,” has no doubt his good friend was robbed on the night of May 20th.
“115-113 in favour of Loma, that is my score card,” Usyk said in speaking with Seconds Out. “I am sure Vasiliy Lomachenko was robbed in this fight. I think it was just poor judging. They [paved] the way for a young kid to go forward and they didn’t appreciate the efforts of a long-time champion, a very skilled performer, Vasiliy Lomachenko, his efforts were not appreciated.
“That’s my brother. The emotional moment we all witnessed after the fight, when we saw tears n Vasiliy’s face, was probably the result of talks with his son. He probably felt that he couldn’t comply with his son’s expectations for becoming the undisputed [champion]. It’s not weakness when a warrior like Vasiliy cries. That’s not bad about him. It shows how strong he is.”
It was indeed a tough-to-watch sight, seeing such a great fighter, having put in such a brilliant effort, crying after coming up short in the opinion of the only three men that matter. It was almost impossible not to side with Loma, so magnificently did he box against Haney, with him then breaking down in tears. It was perhaps at this moment that Lomachenko felt he would never again get the chance to become undisputed champion.
We’re not even a month on from that much-discussed night, and we have yet to see what Loma does next. In an ideal world, a fair world, Haney would grant Loma a rematch. Usyk agrees, and he, like the rest of us, wants to see a second fight.
Haney, however, is talking about moving up to 140 and a possible fight with Regis Prograis. Where this would leave Lomachenko we don’t know.
