The holder of all four major titles in lightweight (up to 61.2 kg) American Devin Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) gave
interview for an American news portal while in Saudi Arabia for the Paul-Fury fight.
The absolute champion answered the journalist’s questions about his upcoming fight against the former holder of three belts Ukrainian Vasily Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs). Recall that according to the idea of the promoter of fighters Bob Arum (Top Rank Promotions), everything should happen on May 20th.
— I met Vasily about a week ago. He said that he hoped that the fight would take place. Let us know what’s going on with the fight, what’s the latest news?
– There will definitely be a fight. We’re trying to figure out exactly where. We’re trying to pick a location. It could be here (in Saudi Arabia) or it could be in Vegas. In one of these two places, the fight will definitely take place. May 20 is the date.
– Delay only at the venue?
– Yes, it is, only at the venue.
– For a long time you wanted this fight. Vasily believed that this was not a big enough fight. How do you feel now that the roles have been reversed? Now you are the champion, you have all the belts, and he needs a fight.
Yes, we switched places. For a long time, Lomachenko didn’t even mention my name. At one point, I even thought Loma didn’t know me, because he literally didn’t say my name. We ended up switching places, and here we are. Now I’m giving Lomachenko a chance when I shouldn’t. When he shouldn’t have, he didn’t, but now it’s different because I want to show the world my skills, I want to go up against the best fighters in the world. I’ve been saying this for a long time, since the days of Lomachenko, since the days of Robert Easter. Now is another chance for me to prove myself. It is said that he summons many fighters, but does not fight them. Everyone I called out and who was ready to fight fought me. Now is another chance to show it. I called Lomachenko years and years ago. And now, years later, we will fight.
Why would Haney beat Lomachenko? Chisora’s opinion
– We see how some fighters who were in a similar situation later did not give a chance to others, or it was very difficult to agree. The most striking example is Spence and Thurman. A lot of people wouldn’t do the same as you. You explained it a bit, but some part of you didn’t say, “No, fuck it, let it wait!”?
– No. For me, it’s a legacy. I was looking forward to the fight with Lomachenko. I knew that I would beat him back then. I still think so, and I will show it.
How will this fight go now?
– I’ll have to see it. Follow. It will definitely be different, not the same as years ago. I can’t wait to show my skills and show that I am the best fighter in the world, that I am the best in P4P.
“I don’t think you’re being given enough credit for this. What do you think needs to be done to finally get this respect, this status from people?
– Keep hitting opponents one by one, lining up, keep sending them to knockdowns – and in the end I will get respect. Now I definitely get more respect than before. After this fight, I will get even more respect if I win.
– Looking at Lomachenko, does it seem to you that he is now on the decline compared to what he was a few years ago?
People say that because he had a bad performance. But one performance doesn’t define who you are. We don’t study Lomachenko by his last performance, we study him by all his fights, by his best performances, by his worst performances. One performance does not define what kind of fighter you are.
He came after the war, he came from Ukraine. It took a lot of effort to make this fight and he came out victorious against a young hungry lion like Jemaine Ortiz. Let’s see. On May 20th we expect the best Lomachenko and the best Devin Haney will show up that night.
“I never reach my goal on the first try.” Lomachenko with the media
– In your sincere opinion, will this be a competitive fight? One round for you, one round for Lomachenko, one round for you, one round for Lomachenko, or do you think that at some point you will have the upper hand?
“I see myself as dominant from the first round until the end of the fight. If the fight lasts 12 rounds, I see myself as dominant all the time.
— What gives you confidence?
“That’s how I feel. It’s not even confidence. I have been saying for a long time that I will beat Lomachenko, that I want to fight him, and that was years and years ago. Nothing changed.
Source: https://vringe.com/news/163160-intervyu-kheyni-o-lomachenko-dayu-emu-shans.htm?rand=141343
