Vasiliy Lomachenko has taken a subtle dig at Devin Haney ahead of their undisputed lightweight world title fight this Saturday night.
Haney is widely regarded as having one of the best jabs in the sport, and the punch is seen as a key reason the American has had the success he has thus far.
However, when speaking to FightHype this week, Lomachenko seemed to insinuate that Haney has become slightly one dimensional with the shot, and compared it to Ryan Garcia and his famed left hook.
“It’s the same as Ryan Garcia, he has a good left hook. But it doesn’t work with guys who know boxing. So it’s the same, we understand and know about it. If you know about his jab, I know about his jab too.”
Haney puts his WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO belts on the line against hall of fame shoe-in, Lomachenko, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, in one of the standout nights of the boxing calendar of the year so far
‘The Dream’ was crowned undisputed champion at 135lbs after an emphatic win over the defending George Kambosos Jr in Australia last year, before rubber stamping his status with an even more dominant victory in the rematch.
Lomachenko himself was a unified world champion at lightweight previously, before being deposed by Teofimo Lopez back in 2021.
However, ‘Loma’ has bounced back from the loss with consecutive wins over Masayoshi Nakatani, Richard Commey and, most recently, Jamaine Ortiz
A showdown with Shakur Stevenson could be next for the winner, after Stevenson announced his arrival to the division with a statement stoppage win over Shuichiro Yoshino earlier this month.
That said, it is no secret that Haney is tight at the weight, and there is a sense that a move up to light welterweight is inevitable for the 24 year old.