By Dan Ambrose: Promoter Bob Arum says a fight between Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko is “essentially made” for early 2023. The Top Rank boss Arum is trying to iron down a date and a location for the Haney vs. Lomachenko fight.
Haney, 24, has been pushing to have the fight with the fading former three-division world champion Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) to take place before Ramadan, as that’ll make it easier for him to make the 135-lb limit.
If the fight takes place after Ramadan, Haney will be more drained and might not make the 135-lb limit. The four titles would still be up for grabs for Lomachenko, but Haney would take flak from the boxing world for missing weight.
The downside of the Haney-Lomachenko contest happening before Ramadan is that it’ll give Lomachenko less time to prepare for the clash.
With the way the much smaller two-time Olympic gold medalist Lomachenko looked in his last fight against his old sparring partner Jamaine Ortiz on October 29th, he needs as much time as possible to get ready for the Haney fight. As such, Top Rank scheduling the fight before Ramadan helps Haney and hurts Lomachenko.
“[The Haney-Lomachenko fight is] “Essentially made. We’re looking for the site and the date, and that’ll be announced shortly. That fight will happen either before or right after Ramadan,” said Bob Arum to Sky Sports News about the Devin Haney vs. Vasyl Lomachenko fight.
Either way, Haney will have a tremendous weight and size advantage over former featherweight champion Lomachenko, who most believe doesn’t belong at lightweight.
Haney is a welterweight [147] in size. Because of his youth, he can still drain down to 135 – just barely] to take advantage of smaller opposition like Lomachenko and former lightweight paper champion George Kambosos Jr.
Once Haney moves up in weight to the 140 or, better yet, the 147-lb division, his career will likely sink rapidly unless Top Rank or whoever promotes him by that time maneuvers as carefully as they would a King on a chess board.
Haney can’t punch, but he’s got the colossal size to dominate at 135, but his lack of power will spoil his career once he moves up in weight and begins fighting guys his own size.
Assuming Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) comes out victorious over the smaller, older 34-year-old Lomachenko, Arum wants to set up a non-title fight between Devin and former unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez at 140.
“Regis Prograis is a possibility [for former unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez]. There are other possibilities for Teofimo. One of the things is for him to take another fight and, if Haney beats Lomachenko, have Haney fight Teofimo in a non-title fight. That would be a big fight. So there are a lot of ways to go with these guys,” Arum said.
Arum isn’t sure whether he’ll have Teofimo (18-1, 13 KOs) challenge for a world title first against WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis before making the Haney-Teofimo fight.
Given how many problems fringe 140-lb contender Sandor Martin gave Teofimo earlier this month on December 10th, it’s probable that Arum will choose NOT to let Teo challenge WBC 140-lb champion Prograis before making the money fight with Haney.
As mixed up as Teofimo has sounded and as poorly as he’s fought in his last three fights, he’ll be easy work for Prograis. Arum has got to know that, and if he doesn’t, his matchmaker with Top Rank will inform him how it’s not safe to match Teofimo against Prograis or any quality fighter at 140 before making a money fight with Haney.
Teofimo will have the speed & power advantage over Haney, but he’s likely to lose due to his poor boxing skills and mixed-up mindset.
