Devin Haney vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko, billed as Checkmate, was a professional boxing match contested on 20 May 2023, for the undisputed lightweight championship. The bout took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight ended in a massive controversial unanimous decision win for Haney.
Background On 19 August 2019, Lomachenko defeated Luke Campbell and won the vacant WBC title, despite holding and defending belts with other sanctioning bodies. Just two weeks after this, Devin Haney defeated Zaur Abdullaev and won the WBC interim title, thus becoming the WBC mandatory challenger. Lomachenko opted to be named the WBC "franchise champion" and Haney was elevated from interim to world champion. This prompted Haney to accuse Lomachenko of "ducking" him.
On 27 March 2022, Haney struck a deal with unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr to fight for the undisputed championship. Lomachenko declined to fight Kambosos, opting to stay and fight for his country after Russia invaded Ukraine. Haney would defeat Kambosos to become the first undisputed lightweight champion since Pernell Whitaker. He would retain his titles by defeating Kambosos in a rematch that took place on 16 October 2022.
Discussions for the fight with Lomachenko began immediately after the Kambosos fight. Haney, a practicing Muslim, indicated that he preferred the fight to take place before March, so as to not conflict with Ramadan. He also accused his promoter Top Rank of favoritism towards Lomachenko, claiming that Top Rank and Lomachenko's management wanted the fight pushed to May to force him to stay weight-drained for longer. Eventually, a deal was struck for a fight at the MGM Grand on May 20.
The fight With Lomachenko coming in as the underdog for the first time in his career, much of the bout turned out to be closely contested, with both men finding success, Lomachenko scoring with clean combinations to the head, while Haney countered consistently with solid body shots. Late in the fight, Lomachenko became increasingly dominant, finding particular success in the 10th and 11th rounds. However, Haney rallied to win the final round on all three judges' scorecards.
Haney won the fight by unanimous decision. The sold-out crowd loudly booed the decision.
Official scorecards JudgeFighter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112Totalhttps://www.badlefthook.com/2023/5/21/23731626/haney-vs-lomachenko-official-scorecard-how-judges-scored-fight-dave-moretti-boxing-news-2023Tim CheathamHaney1091010101099109910 115 Lomachenko91099991010910109 113Dave MorettiHaney10991010910101010910 116 Lomachenko9101099109999109 112David SutherlandHaney1099101010109109910 115 Lomachenko91010999910910109 113
Aftermath The decision however, was greatly disputed, as many onlookers felt Lomachenko had done enough to win, including fellow boxers Shakur Stevenson and Jorge Linares, who had previously predicted a Haney victory. Actor Tom Holland argued that there was a "general consensus" that Lomachenko had won the fight. Judge Dave Moretti's scorecard, giving round 10 to Haney despite Lomachenko dominating that round, was heavily criticised. Others argued that as the fight had been close, a narrow result for Haney was not unreasonable. CompuBox punch stats showed Haney had landed 110 of 405 punches thrown (27%), while Lomachenko landed 124 of 564 (22%), with both boxers outlanding the other in five rounds each, the other two rounds being even. Lomachenko believed he had won and his team subsequently stated they would file an appeal regarding the result. Haney on his part praised Lomachenko, calling him his toughest opponent yet.
Regardless of the result, the fight and the performances of both men were widely praised. It was described by multiple accounts as "thrilling", with Lomachenko's display against a substantially younger and larger opponent being highly lauded.
After the event, Haney was fined $25,000 for violently shoving Lomachenko during the weigh-in faceoffs.
The event, which was a sell-out with a crowd of 14,436, produced by ESPN+ pay-per-view generated around 150,000 buys, grossing approximately $9 million in domestic revenue. According to Dan Rafael, the live gate was a “low seven figure gate.” Haney was guaranteed a $4 million purse and Lomachenko had a base purse of $3 million.
Fight card Confirmed bouts:
Broadcasting Country/RegionBroadcastersFreeCable TVPPVStreamUnited States (host)ESPN+UkraineTBAAsia (inc. Indian subcontinent exc. Japan)Fight SportsFight Sports MaxEuropeMENABrazilSporTVGloboplayCanadaTSN+ (undercard only) DenmarkFITEFinlandNorwaySwedenFranceRMC SportRMC BFM PlayIrelandSky SportsSky GoUnited KingdomJapanWowowWowow on DemandLatin America (exc. Brazil)ESPNStar+MexicoAzteca 7TV Azteca Deportes PanamaRPCMedcom GoPolandTVP SportTVP GoSub-saharan AfricaESPNESPN Player
References