Unified featherweight champion American Shakur Stevenson (18-0, 9 KOs) promises to move up to lightweight very soon, but for now, he is talking about a potential confrontation for the title of the best fighter in this division – a fight between compatriot Devin Haney (28-0, 15 KOs ) and Ukrainian Vasily Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs).
In June in Australia, Haney beat local fighter George Kambosos Jr. (20-1, 10 KOs) and became the undisputed division champion. But under the terms of the contract, he is obliged to box with the loser again, and again on the road.
Stevenson thinks Haney should fight Lomachenko, not Kambosos. During
the same interview he shared his opinion on how such a potential confrontation would end: “Devin will do everything to make this fight as similar as possible to a boxing match. And Lomachenko will try to attack and press more – he needs a fight. I think Devin will win. He has a speed advantage. And Vasily is not getting any younger. I think Haney’s speed will be something Lomachenko can’t handle.”
Previously, Stevenson has spoken out more than once about the desire to fight Lomachenko. This time he answered differently: “Vasily was once asked if he wanted to measure his strength with me. And he replied that he prefers to fight for all the lightweight titles. He said that he no longer thinks about anything else, including not thinking about me. I think he will be first on the list to fight Devin. I think by then I’ll be a lightweight too. And I will gladly fight with the one who will have all the belts. When will I get up to 61.2 kg? Very soon! In the very near future. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you everything. Like I said, no attempt to avoid fighting the best of the best. I’m in boxing just for fights like this.”
The other day, Stevenson admitted who beat him powerfully in sparring – it was not Lomachenko. It is already known that he will make his debut defense of two titles against the Olympic champion. It is possible that this will be his last fight at 59 kg.
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