LAS VEGAS — It's not a normal Saturday night if there's not a controversy about the officiating in a boxing match, particularly if said match is in Nevada.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 20: Devin Haney celebrates after defeating Vasyl Lomachenko of Ukraine during their Undisputed lightweight championship fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 20, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. LAS VEGAS — It’s not a normal Saturday night if there’s not a controversy about the officiating in a boxing match, particularly if said match is in Nevada.
Haney won a unanimous decision by scores of 115-113 twice and 116-112 to retain his titles. Lomachenko teared up in his locker room afterward, recalling his 11-year-old son, Anatoly’s, words from earlier in the day.When the final bell sounded, the crowd roared and Lomachenko leapt to the ropes. He was beaming and believed that, at 35, he’d regained the titles and was, in fact, the new world champion.
The scores didn’t set well with either Lomachenko or his manager, Egis Klimas. Klimas said he’d protest, though it’s going to be a useless exercise because no commission will ever overturn a judgement call unless there is evidence of corruption. Lomachenko was coming off a lackluster win in October over Jamaine Ortiz and it led some to speculate he was on the decline. But he fought brilliantly Saturday and ended any speculation he’s hit the end of the line.“Of course I felt during the fight I controlled the fight, I made the fight,” Lomachenko said. “I controlled every round. For me, it’s a big, big question what happened.”
All of the questions about the scoring obscured the fact that Haney proved definitively that he’s an elite, high-level lightweight. Is he the best lightweight in the world? Well, that remains an open question. Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta Davis will have something to say about that, as will Lomachenko, who fought at that level Saturday.“People can say what they want to say,” Haney said of the criticism of the scoring. “The judges had it a unanimous decision.
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