Vasyl Lomachenko cut a dejected figure in the ring when the judges awarded Devin Haney a unanimous points victory in their battle for the undisputed world lightweight crown – but couldn’t contain his emotions when he broke down. steeped in defeat in his locker room afterwards. .
The Ukrainian was captured on video bursting into uncontrollable tears after the fight in Las Vegas on Saturday night, at one point covering his face with both hands as he rocked back and forth and sobbed.
It was a remarkable display of emotion from the 35-year-old, who is known for his ability to stay cool, calm and collected no matter what happens in the ring.
After 12 rounds of high quality back and forth, the judges scored 116-112 115-113 115-113 in favor of a delighted Haney – but Lomachenko immediately went after the score.
Lomachenko was completely overwhelmed with emotion after his narrow loss to Haney
The future Hall of Famer couldn’t hold back his tears and was seen sobbing after refusing to discuss the judges’ decision before leaving the ring.
Asked about his opinion on the result before returning to the locker room, he told the crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena: “I don’t want to talk about it.”
‘Everyone sees what happened today.
“I think I’ve shown I can be in boxing and I’m in good shape. I can’t speak to the result at the moment, it’s just not a comfortable time for me right now, but thank you to everyone who came.
He added: “Everything was within the rules. I thought he (Haney) would be better but he’s a tough fighter but he’s not the pound for pound fighter.
“Right now I want to go home and support my country and my Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”
According to Compubox stats, Lomachenko beat his American rival, landing 124 punches to Haney’s 110 and throwing 314 power punches to 217.
The Ukrainian superstar probably had his best round of the fight in the 10th, when he appeared to hurt Haney with sharp punches
Compubox stats showed that Lomachenko beat and landed the undisputed lightweight champion and many fans and pundits were angry with the result.
He was particularly strong in rounds 10 and 11, when he seemed to injure Haney with his famously fast and accurate punches.
However, outraged fans grabbed the score from judge Dave Moretti, who scored in the 10th round 10-9 for Haney and gave the American four of the last five rounds.
“In what world is trick 10 a Haney trick?” tweeted a fan.
‘Moretti must be investigated. Made me want to stop watching boxing,” another wrote.
“Round 10 was Loma’s most dominant smh,” added a third.
Famed fight trainer Teddy Atlas wrote, “It’s confirmed that Moretti gave Haney the 10th round, so now the omnipotent Commission over there has to act like a Commission and investigate.”
Former world champion and title contender Shakur Stevenson said he thought Lomachenko won because he “landed the cleanest shots, the cleanest shots”. He pushed the pace.”
And he wasn’t alone, with former UFC star Daniel Cormier simply tweeting “Boxing” when he saw the result.
WBO featherweight world champion Robeisy Ramirez posted a photo of himself with Lomachenko and the caption: “That’s just wrong.” I am incredibly disappointed. This man won tonight.
Fight fans and stature pundits of famed fight trainer Teddy Atlas were left infuriated by judge Dave Moretti’s (middle column, above) score that handed Haney the 10th round
Haney says mega-fight against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis ‘will happen sooner or later’ after defending second undisputed world title
At a post-fight press conference, Haney explained who his next opponent might be. Stevenson is keen on chasing the belts, but the undisputed champion seems to have someone else in mind.
“Tank (Gervonta Davis) is a massive fight and it will happen sooner or later,” he said.
Haney (30-0, 15 KO), 24, had unified all four major belts with a victory over Australian George Kambosos Jr. in June 2022 – something he successfully defended against the same opponent in October.
Lomachenko had won three straight fights prior to this clash.
The Ukrainian was keen to show he was not a waning force against Haney’s bright young star and he impressed throughout the fight, constantly firing back whenever his opponent tried to gain momentum.
The American, booed vehemently by the crowd, looked much more aggressive than usual as he had an increasingly open stance and tried to assert himself.
But Loma started fast and his traditional quick hands and excellent footwork were on display as they continued to come and go.
