Vasiliy Lomachenko strutted forward after a huge shove from Devin Haney with a telling smile on his face. The Ukrainian believes he has the fight at checkmate.
Top Rank labeled the undisputed battle as such, and after Haney broke his cool with a push at the weigh-in, Loma saw the edge firmly in his corner.
Loma shoves Devin Haney
“He is mine. Now he is mine. He doesn’t have the power. I felt it. [That shove happened] because he’s scared, he’s scared,” Loma said in the aftermath.
For his part, Haney believes the ease at which he propelled the smaller Ukrainian master will be the significant factor.
“That was just the start. Do you see how easily I pushed him? He’s the smaller man. I’m going to impose my will on him.”
Before the drama, Haney weighed 134.9 pounds. The numbers came as a surprise to those focused on a size difference. Loma scaled slightly heavier at 135.
Haney vs Loma pre-fight quotes:
Haney
“I’m blessed to be here. It’s something that I’ve always dreamed of. I’ve been wanting this fight since 2019. I’ve been begging for it and calling for it. The time has finally come.
“The tables have turned this time around. When he had the belts, he didn’t want to fight me. But it’s a fight where I truly believe I am the better fighter. I’m the better competitor. I will be victorious. I’m happy that the time has finally come.”
“This is a legacy fight for me. Loma, at one time, was No.1 pound-for-pound. A few months ago, he was higher than me on the pound-for-pound list. Now that the fight has been made, he has dropped off the pound-for-pound list. But it is what it is.
“We know what type of fighter he is. He deserves to be on the pound-for-pound list. Not above me, but definitely on the list. But this is a legacy fight. This is a real fight. This is not an influencer fight. I know this is really for the belts. This is for the gold.
“This is also possible to determine the best in the world.”
“The better the opposition, the better I am. Loma is a good fighter. But I’m on a different level. On fight night, the world will see that. The world will see how good Devin Haney is.”
Lomachenko
“I’m excited for May 20. This is my second chance, and I will try my best. Thank you to Team Haney for the opportunity. We are all prepared for this.”
“You can’t think about your future when there’s a war coming to your house. You think about life, your family, and the people around you.
“But you think about how you can live another day. You can’t think about your job. You can’t think about a professional sport.”
“We never know what will happen. We can prepare for one strategy, but it can all change in the ring. Right now, I don’t know. I train hard and prepare. I believe in God and my team.”
