Fight Week: Devin Haney to face Vasiliy Lomachenko in pivotal 135-pound showdown
FIGHT WEEK
Devin Haney is scheduled to defend his undisputed 135-pound championship against Vasiliy Lomachenko, the biggest fight of Haney’s career and a chance for Lomachenko to regain lost glory. Also, in the U.K., Katie Taylor will challenge 140-pound champ Chantelle Cameron.
DEVIN HANEY (29-0, 15 KOS)
VS. VASILIY LOMACHENKO (17-2, 11 KOS)
When: Saturday, May 20
Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas
TV/Stream: Pay-per-view
Division: Lightweight (135 pounds)
At stake: Haney’s undisputed championship
Pound-for-pound ranking: Lomachenko No. 11, Haney No. 15
Odds: Haney 2½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
Also on the card: Oscar Valdez vs. Adam Lopez, rematch, junior lightweights; Junto Nakatani vs. Andrew Moloney, junior bantamweights (for vacant WBO title); Raymond Muratalla vs. Jeremia Nakathila, lightweights; Nico Ali Walsh vs. TBA, middleweights
Prediction: Haney SD
Background: Haney isn’t necessarily the best 135-pounder in the world but he has all the titles, which he took from George Kambosos by a one-sided unanimous decision last June and then successfully defended by similar scoring in a rematch in October. The slick 24-year-old defeated in succession Yuriorkis Gamboa, Jorge Linares and Joseph Diaz Jr. – all by decision – to set up the first Kambosos fight and establish him as one of the top young fighters in the world. Now comes the biggest challenge of his career, at least on paper. Lomachenko, one of the greatest amateur fighters of ever, became a three-division professional champion after only 12 fights and ultimately climbed to the top of many pound-for-pound lists. Then came disaster, a unanimous decision loss to Teofimo Lopez that cost him three lightweight titles and damaged his reputation. The Ukrainian entered that fight with a nagging shoulder injury but was still forced to rebuild. He has won three consecutive fights since his setback, the last one (in October) a clear decision over Jamaine Ortiz during his country’s war with Russia. Now Lomachenko, 35, has a chance to regain what he lost in one of the biggest fights of the year.
CHANTELLE CAMERON (17-0, 8 KOs)
VS. KATIE TAYLOR (22-0, 6 KOS)
When: Saturday, May 20
Time: 3 p.m. ET / noon PT (main event later in show)
Where: 3 Arena, Dublin, Ireland
TV/Stream: DAZN
Division: Junior welterweights (140 pounds)
At stake: Cameron’s undisputed championship
Odds: Taylor 1½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
Also on the card: Terri Harper vs. Cecilia Braekhus, junior middleweights (for Harper’s WBA title); Dennis Hogan vs. James Metcalf, junior middleweights; Gary Cully vs. Jose Felix, lightweights
Prediction: Taylor UD
Background: Taylor, arguably the face of women’s boxing, will be fighting as the challenger for only the second time in her career. The 2012 Olympic champion from Ireland won her first professional title when she outpointed Anahi Ester Sanchez for a vacant 135-pound title in October 2017 and has successfully defended 13 times, adding three other belts along the way. She also won a 140-pound belt when she defeated then-140-pound champ Christina Linardatou in 2019, after which she vacated her title. Cameron, from the U.K., won her first title when she stopped Melissa Hernandez in five rounds in May 2021. She has successfully defended three times, including a close, but unanimous decision victory over Jessica McCaskill to win all four major junior welterweight titles in November. This might be the biggest fight in the careers of both boxers. A victory over the great Taylor would allow Cameron to join Claressa Shields and Amanda Serrano at the top of the women’s boxing world. If Taylor wins, she’ll become only the second woman to become undisputed champion in a second division. Shields was the first.
ALSO FIGHTING THIS WEEK
WEDNESDAY
Otar Eranosyan vs. Edy Valencia Mercado, junior lightweights, Plant City, Florida (ProBox TV)
SUNDAY
Lucas Bahdi vs. Jesus Amparan, lightweights, Niagara Falls, Canada (DAZN)
