Vasyl Lomachenko and his team are set to appeal his controversial points loss to Devin Haney.
The Ukrainian star stepped into the ring with undisputed lightweight champion Haney last night in Las Vegas as he looked to return to the pinnacle of the sport after a gradual rebuild. However he fell short on the judges scorecards with a unanimous decision win awarded to his American rival, in controversial fashion.
It was the consensus of many including potential challenger Shakur Stevenson that the verdict was unjustly given to Haney, with Lomachenko certainly putting in a spirited performance on enemy soil. And at the post-fight press conference, Lomachenko's manager Egis Klimas insisted they will make an official complaint regarding the officials' final decision.
“I’m going to say it just like it is - this is the biggest robbery in the middle of the day," Klimas said following the final bell after the decision was received. For the other team, Christmas came in the summer. We are not going to let it go. I guarantee we are going to protest, I guarantee we are going to appeal that decision.
“Because somebody needs to end this injustice. Somebody needs to put boxing in the place where it has to be. It has to be justice. “Those judges, when they scored their completely insane scores, they do not understand how the fighters are working hard. Being robbed like that? It’s not acceptable.
“I guarantee we are not going to let it go, we are going to go all the way to the end to appeal. Maybe we are not going to win, most likely it is going to be as it is, but we want to show that there has to be justice.”
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Lomachenko will likely now be looking for a rematch which could be scuppered, given Haney intends to move up in weight and potentially vacate the belts. The crown would likely fragment, which could significantly lower the champion's chances of holding all the titles having fallen narrowly short.
And the 35-year-old bears the disappointment of his team insisting that he believes he controlled the fight despite his rival's best attempts. “I controlled the fight,” he said. “All fight I understand that I was winning the fight. So for me it’s a big surprise. 12 rounds and I was sure I won this fight. But it is what it is. I controlled every round. It is a big, big question what happened in the result today.
"I don’t want to talk about [the decision]. All the people saw what happened today. Before, I thought he would be better. He’s a tough fighter. He’s a good fighter. But he’s not a pound-for-pound fighter. It is a big, big question what happened in the result today. I think I showed that I can still be in boxing."
