This past weekend, Devin Haney faced up against Vasiliy Lomachenko for the undisputed lightweight championship. While Haney prevailed, the match was not without controversy.
Following the outcome of the fight that took place yesterday night, the focus has shifted from the judges in professional boxing, where it has been a heated topic in mixed martial arts competitions over the past few years, to those in professional boxing.
UFC athletes and professional boxers have taken to Twitter to express their disappointment with the outcome of the match. All three scorecards came up in favor of Devin Haney with scores of 116-112, 115-113, and 115-113 respectively.
After the conclusion of the highly anticipated main fight, the lightweight title contender Shakur Stevenson, a professional boxer, was brought into the ring. According to a report by Morning Kombat, who tweeted the following: “Stevenson came out and said that Vasiliy Lomachenko should have won the fight.”
“Lomachenko should be undisputed, because he won” – Shakur Stevenson”Morning Kombat Morning Kombat @morningkombat: “Lomachenko ought to be unchallenged, he won.” – Shakur Stevenson #HaneyLomachenko 423 89
Dillon Danis, a fighter with Bellator MMA and a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, asserted that Lomachenko had been cheated:
“Lomachenko was taken advantage of”
Dillon Danis
Dillon Danis @dillondanis
Lomachenko was the victim of a theft.
1842 262
Josh Thomson, a former challenger for the UFC title who now works as a commentator for Bellator MMA, is of the opinion that questionable judging is one of the factors that is leading to boxing’s decline as a sport:
This is the reason why fewer people watch boxing these days. Putting more emphasis on the younger fighter rather than the one who truly prevailed. #boxingisdead”
The Thomson, Josh
@THEREALPUNK is handled by Josh Thomson.
This is the reason why fewer people watch boxing these days. Putting more emphasis on the younger fighter rather than the one who truly came out on top. #boxingisdead 1540 278
James Vick, a former MMA fighter who competed for the UFC, made a prediction that Haney would be given the victory over Lomachenko, despite his belief that the Ukrainian had won the fight:
“Despite the fact that, in my opinion, he is winning, they are not going to give Loma this decision.”
James Vick
James Vick @JamesVickMMA
Even though, in my opinion, Loma should win this decision, they are not going to give it to him.
11
Teddy Atlas, a well-known boxing analyst and trainer, stated that the scorecard that was scored 116-112 in favor of Haney was unacceptable:
“I can probably live with the two scores, but I can’t live with the 116-112. #HaneyLoma”
Terence Crawford reacts to Devin Haney’s win over Vasiliy Lomachenko
After defeating Vasiliy Lomachenko via unanimous decision, Devin Haney was able to maintain his place as the undisputed champion of the lightweight division as well as his perfect record.
The judgment prompted protests from both the competitors in the match and the viewers who watched it, with the former claiming that the latter should have been awarded the victory.
In an interview with FightHype.com, Terence Crawford, who is the reigning WBO welterweight champion and is widely considered to be the finest boxer in the world at his weight class, responded to the stunning scorecards by saying, “I’m not surprised.”
“If I’m being completely honest, the result did take me by surprise. Devin is my guy, so naturally I was cheering for him the whole time he was competing. However, the scorecard of 116-112 was just insane… I don’t know, maybe [Haney] was throwing body shots, wow that was crazy.”
