Devin Haney has vowed to ‘impose his will’ on Vasiliy Lomachenko to secure a ‘dominant’ win this weekend.
Haney, 24, defends the undisputed lightweight titles against former multiple-weight champion Lomachenko, 35, in Las Vegas on Saturday (20 May).
The bout marks the American’s second defence of the belts, which he won by outpointing George Kambosos Jr in the Australian’s home country last June. Haney then beat Kambosos Jr in Australia again in October, emerging victorious via decision once more.
Now the unbeaten Haney plans to bolster his resume against an all-time great, and he said on Wednesday (17 May): “I’m going to put on a dominant victory.
“I’m going to go in there and impose my will on Loma and show the world how great Devin Haney really is – how versatile, how strong, how young, and how experienced I am in that ring.
“This is all a dream come true. I thank God for this every day. I watched fighters make their grand arrivals when I was a young kid. This is all a blessing, and I’m excited for Saturday night.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Lomachenko hit back: “I believe that when you say something, you need to prove it.
“I have a lot of experience in boxing, and anything can happen during a fight. I just think about what I need to do during a fight, and my goal is to become the undisputed champion of the world.
“It will be very, very interesting. We have two different styles.”
Lomachenko was unified lightweight champion until he suffered a surprise loss to Teofimo Lopez in 2020. Lopez, who outpointed Lomachenko, then dropped the titles to Kambosos Jr via decision in 2021, before Haney dethroned the Australian in a fight for undisputed status.
Lomachenko, who has responded to his loss to Lopez with three straight wins, is also a two-time Olympic champion, having won gold for Ukraine in 2008 and 2012.
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