Vasiliy Lomachenko is comforted by the notion that a seemingly large contingent of people believed he deserved to beat Devin Haney.
The two fighters were involved in a highly competitive 12-round bout for the undisputed lightweight championship one week ago at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas that saw Haney successfully retain his four 135-pound belts via unanimous decision. The scorecards were 116-112, 115-113, and 115-113.
Afterward, many viewers objected to the official results, with some saying Lomachenko was “robbed.”
Upon reviewing the fight, Lomachenko said in a recent interview that he believed he won eight rounds to Haney’s four. Lomachenko said, however, that he could see a 7-5 tally in his favor. He cited ESPN commentator and analyst Max Kellerman’s own scorecard during the broadcast as the kind he believes is appropriate. Kellerman scored the bout 115-113 in favor of Lomachenko.
“Look, I saw on the [replay] this fight, my score was 8-4,” Lomachenko told ESNews. “My score [doesn’t count]. But real score it’s close to 7-5. It’s the same [score as] Max Kellerman. But my scores have different rounds. I believe he gives first, second rounds to Haney, but on my score[card], second round was mine, so this is a little bit different. It is what it is.”
Nevertheless, Lomachenko has been buoyed by the widespread encouragement he has received in the wake of his controversial loss to Haney, especially from those whose opinions he respects.
“We have a lot of different opinions,” Lomachenko said. “I am happy because a lot of people who understand boxing, who love boxing, who respect boxing, they give me this fight, they give me this win.”
“It’s a lot of warm words,” Lomachenko added. “They support me. ‘Hey Loma, keep going, keep going.’ It’s very, very [happy to hear that]. I wanted to say, ‘big thank you for [your] support.’”
By Sean Nam