Yesterday was the introductory press conference for the undisputed lightweight title fight that is set to take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 20th. Devin Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) will be making the second defense of his undisputed crown against his best opponent to date, three-division world champion Vasyl Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs).

This is a fight that has been discussed for years now. Back in 2019 Haney defeated Zaur Abdullaev (17-1, 10 KOs) for the interim WBC title and was next in line for a shot at Lomachenko, who was the unified champion at the time. After the win, the 20-year-old Haney called out the man who was at the top of many pound for pound lists.

Instead of facing Haney, Lomachenko opted to become the WBC “Franchise” champion and would go into a unification fight with then IBF champion Teofimo Lopez (18-1, 13 KOs). The decision awarded Haney the WBC title, which he defended four times before unifying the titles against George Kambosos Jr (20-2, 10 KOs). The tables have now turned though, with Haney holding all four belts and Lomachenko being the contender who wants a shot at the top guy.

Haney realizes how important this fight his for his career, labelling it a legacy fight.

“This is a legacy fight for me. Loma at one time was number one pound for pound. A few months ago he was higher than me on the pound for pound list. Now that the fight is getting made, or has been made, he’s dropped down off the pound for pound list. It is what it is. We know what type of fighter he is. We know that he deserves to be on the pound for pound list. Not above me, but definitely on the pound for pound list. It’s just a legacy fight. This is a fight, this is a real fight. This is not like an influencer, this is really for the belts, this is really for the gold, everything, the pound for pound best in the division, possibly the best in the world.”

Bill Haney, Devin’s father who serves as his head trainer and manager, initially poked fun at Lomackenko for “running from” his son but then shared how he has all the respect in the world for him as a fighter and as a man.

“The warrant has been served. They’ve been doing a lot of running, a lot of avoiding. We have a lot of respect for him, we know that he’s a hall of fame fighter. He’s a fighter that gives Devin the credit and validation of being a pound for pound fighter. I disagree with him not being on the pound for pound list. I think he’s everything that he’s been and more. He’s more mature now, he has something to fight for. A man that is willing to sacrifice his career to go and defend his country and to be with his family, that says a lot. For us to give him the opportunity at the belts, a dream he has had, it means the world. For Devin to be 24 and to own a company, Devin Haney promotions, to then go down under to Australia, not once, but twice, to take a deal that Lomachenko had openly said that he was gonna take, it says a lot about Devin”.

Devin Haney vs Vasyl Lomachenko will be an ESPN+ PPV broadcast, priced at a reduced value of $60.