Former unified lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko was left relatively unimpressed by Devin Haney, despite losing to the American on Saturday night.
The Ukrainian, who once held four belts at 135lbs before his defeat to Teofimo Lopez, finally had his chance to become undisputed when he faced Haney in Las Vegas.
The fight was scored a unanimous victory for Haney, with scorecards of 116-112, 115-113, 115-113. Many observers gave the fight to Lomachenko given his strong finish in the championship rounds, and the fighter himself hinted he was dissatisfied with the outcome.
However, he also had a withering putdown for Haney after sizing him up in the ring.
"I don’t want to talk about [the decision]. All the people saw what happened today. Before, I thought he would be better. He’s a tough fighter. He’s a good fighter. But he’s not a pound-for-pound fighter," Lomachenko said, reported BoxingScene.com.
“I think I showed that I can still be in boxing. I’m in good shape now. And see you next time. Right now I want to go back home and support my country and support my Ukrainian orthodox church.”
Despite the close fight, there is no guarantee that the pair will rematch. At 35, Lomachenko may now be at the end of his career, or he may wait to see what happens to Haney’s belts next.
The unbeaten American has been linked with a step up to 140lbs to face some of his former peers at lightweight who have also moved up a division.
If that were to happen, the belts would be up for grabs once more, offering Lomachenko and others to chance to become world champion without meeting Haney.