Legendary boxing trainer and commentator Teddy Atlas has given his view as to how a potential matchup between Vasiliy Lomachenko and Devin Haney for all Haney’s lightweight titles plays out.
Speaking on his ‘The Fight’ podcast, Atlas expressed that ‘Loma’ hasn’t got time on his side when it comes to cementing his legacy in the final chapter of his career.
“If he’s [Lomachenko] going to fight a top guy he better do it right away and not wait any longer, because the clock has ticked and it’s still ticking.
That’s going to be a tough fight for Loma.
He [Haney] is bigger, and he’s good and he believes. He already knows late in the fight what he has to do, what he can do, he can rely on himself. He has the ability to control the outside and time Loma coming in.
That would be an interesting fight and a tough fight. It’ll be an awfully tough fight for Loma, but it’ll be tough for both guys.”
Atlas clearly feels the physical advantages that Haney possesses will be a huge factor in the fight. This comes after ‘The Dream’ stepped into the ring to congratulate the Ukrainian following his unanimous decision victory over Jermaine Ortiz at Madison Square Garden on 29th October where Haney looked the much physically bigger man.
It’s no secret that the weight cut is a big hurdle for Haney to overcome should the fight between the two get made. The American made the headlines when he weighed in for his rematch against George Kambosos, appearing to look like he was struggling with the limit before putting on one of the best performances of his career.
‘Loma’ received criticism from other top lightweights for his performance against Ortiz – his first since December 2021 and Russia’s invasion of his native Ukraine.
The Lomachenko fight seems highly likely to be next for Haney, as it’s understood that Haney agreed to fight Lomachenko if he were to beat Kambosos twice when he signed the Top Rank deal in March 2022.