Devin Haney defeats Lomachenko, but the fans aren’t happy

Plus, Katie suffers first loss and will Spence finally face Crawford?

May 26, 2023

“Slow the fight down to 0.5 speed and you’ll see who won.” That’s what somebody told me in the aftermath of Devin Haney’s victory over Vasyl Lomachenko last Saturday. While I have no intention of doing so, his point was that Lomachenko’s razor sharp blows can be better appreciated with a little time to breathe.

Although some would not agree, it seemed like a close fight. 115-113 either way or a draw would have sat in the realms of fairness. Unlike Dave Moretti’s 116-112 scorecard in favour of the retaining champion which was on the wide side.

The notable size difference was always going to make it an uphill climb for the significantly smaller Lomachenko, who circled early on as Haney pumped the jab and landed his sharp right hand to the body.

Haney tends to duck down to waist height, which causes opponents to push on top of him. He did that a lot against George Kambosos and a few times against Lomachenko before referee Harvey Dock got to grips with his schemes. Back on the legal side of the action, Haney’s reach was causing problems, even though he did not fully commit to the jab just yet he was firing it from range, mainly to set up the right to the body.

Photo Credit: Bloody Elbow

In round three, Loma got closer with some fast-handed combinations as he found a nice range himself. Haney was busy getting physical on the inside with the much smaller man. The undisputed champion is a lot like Andre Ward in respect of his borderline tactics. As Ward practised throughout his career, if you’re able to compete on the margins of legality and nobody is pulling you up on it, why not?

Continuing his body assault in round four, Haney’s investment was paying off as Lomachenko looked a little tired at the end of the round. Lomachenko closed the gap quickly and landed some snappy left hands to the head in the seventh. The success continued into the ninth and I began to imagine what would happen if Haney was to get past Loma and go on to fight the likes of Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis. Both would pose dangerous threats for Devin if he were to keep his head on the line.

Once Lomachenko started pushing forward in round 10 the entire story of the fight threatened to change. Applying mental pressure on an opponent who boxes better with space, suddenly Devin was looking ragged and struggled to avoid the sweeping overhand lefts. The surge was not enough to impress veteran judge Moretti who inexplicably gave the round to the defending undisputed champion. This was not the first erroneous call made by Moretti -one of Las Vegas’ most trusted officials- as he also somehow scored round two of Tank vs. Garcia 10-10 despite Ryan hitting the canvas.

Roared on by an excited crowd off the back of his stellar 10th, Loma closed the distance in explosive fashion in round 11. For the first two minutes he slid in with fast lead left hands. A right hook wobbled Haney who appeared disorganised for a second.

Just like in the Teofimo Lopez fight, Lomachenko lost/gave up/failed to push the action in the final round. The only explanation for this would be fatigue as the Ukrainian seemed understandably tired and reluctant to throw as Haney closed out the fight with simple movement and jab-right hand combinations.

https://twitter.com/HeIsRichardson/status/1660147453474095105?s=20

While the fight appeared close at the time, the Twittersphere were not impressed by the outcome.

ESPN duo Max Kellerman and Mark Kriegel both had Loma winning 115-113 and gave him the 12th but were scrambling with CompuBox stats to back up their assertions. Regardless, Shakur Stevenson stepped into the ring afterwards to let Devin and Bill Haney know what he thought of them. That would be a great fight, although Shakur would start as a strong favourite.

Haney was knocked off balance at one point late on, which is the closest we came to a true swing moment as the back-and-forth exchanges built up to a crescendo that never quite arrived. It will be interesting to see how Haney’s punch resistance holds up at 140 pounds if he moves up there next.

Now a free agent, ‘The Dream’ may find his way back to DAZN and the warm embrace of Eddie Hearn. Devin has earned a bundle of accolades and some hefty paydays to boot. Considering his lack of explosive power, dearth of big name wins (Lomachenko aside) and inability to shift a bucket load of tickets, the 24-year-old has made himself a very rich young man.

KATIE TAYLOR SUFFERS FIRST CAREER DEFEAT

In hindsight the question must be asked: why didn’t they just put Katie Taylor in a showcase? In fact, this question was already being asked weeks before she faced a hungry, unified champion on her Ireland homecoming.

Staggering around the ring, hair escaping from an insufficient tie-up, Katie always seems gassed out after about two rounds but just keeps going. Chantelle Cameron’s body shots made all the difference. Nice little left hooks, sliding into the rib cage slowed the Bray woman down. The final cards should’ve been wider even though the right woman won.

Two minute rounds don’t produce many stoppages at the top end of the female game. They also don’t allow for swings in momentum or any stylistic nuance. Both fighters tend to go hell for leather in an attempt to grasp momentum.

Both spoke of a rematch. Probably in the same Dublin venue. It’s hard to see that going any differently. Taylor has been sliding since the first Delfine Persoon fight. Her true dominance remained in the amateurs and the wear and tear is beginning to show. Not so for the winner. Northampton’s Cameron, 32, has matured into a really tough little cookie who can jab, move and punch. She’ll be hard to beat.

https://twitter.com/Claressashields/status/1660051839457394689?s=20

The self-proclaimed GWOAT of women’s boxing scored it to Katie

NUTHOUSE NOTES

According to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, Errol Spence and Terence Crawford have finally agreed to fight. This is the first fight announcement since the last one, so hopefully the proposed July 29 date will soon be confirmed by the main players. The winner will become the number one pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas will host the eight-figure attraction. Showtime will televise on pay-per-view. Let’s hope the rumour is indeed true this time as it would be an absolute travesty if the sport’s power brokers failed to secure the biggest fight of a generation.

By the time the date comes around both men will have been fairly inactive. Spence last fought against Yordenis Ugas in April 2022, while Crawford appeared on BLK Prime (remember them?) to defeat David Avanesyan in December 2022. A rematch clause will be in place to protect the loser. Talk of the fight being up at 154 is welcome as it would theoretically free up all of the 147-pound titles for the next batch of challengers and champions.

Photo Credit: TalkSport

Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) currently holds the WBA, WBC and IBF welterweight titles while Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) holds the WBO belt. Who would win? Regular readers will know that I’ve been critical of Crawford in the past, but that has always been down to his career choices and lack of standout names on the resume.

I’ve never questioned his ability, tenacity and potential to become a huge star. He’s always got in his own way with weird decisions. My frustration spawns from the fact that he is so talented and could be smashing through divisions like a beast instead of making disjointed Instagram videos or suing Bob Arum.

I make this a 50-50 or slightly lean towards Crawford, but the size would favour Spence who is physically strong, has a cracking jab and loves raking the body. The great thing about this fight is that both men are filled with pride, spite and aggression. When it inevitably descends into trench warfare, the action will heat up until somebody folds.

Thanks for reading! Drop a little heart or even a comment if you get a minute. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Speak to you all next week…

About Steve: Experienced boxing writer, author of 8 books and podcaster of over 400 eps. 15+ years in the sport. Covered hundreds of shows for newspapers and Boxing News magazine. Chief script writer for Motivedia channel. For enquiries: stevenwellings1982@gmail.com.