American super lightweight Teofimo Lopez (17-1, 13 KOs) showed hope that his compatriot and current undisputed lightweight champion (up to 61.2 kg) Devin Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) would agree to fight against Ukrainian ex-champion Vasily Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) next year.
And if this does happen, Teofimo predicts Devin’s victory.
Recall that in 2020, Lopez defeated Lomachenko on points, unifying the WBA / WBO / IBF world lightweight titles.
“It will be a competitive fight no matter what,” Lopez said. – And the reason why I am leaning towards Haney’s victory is that you can see for yourself: first and foremost, the current Lomachenko is no longer the former Lomachenko. Not the same guy I met in 2020. He was specifically worn out, and we do not know what kind of burden fell on him when he defended his country (from the full-scale invasion of Putin’s army of invaders into Ukraine). We don’t have information about that, however, I think he needs more rest before this fight.”
“Right now it looks like Devin is generally more interested in fighting me than Loma, but I think at lightweight Lomachenko would be the best option for him. Depending on how he beats Lomachenko, it will make our fight with him an even bigger event, – Teofimo believes. “Haney is very good with the jab and keeps his distance very well, and Lomachenko has a lot of problems with opponents of this kind. Hope we get to see that fight next year.”
According to Lopez, he has no doubt that Vasily will agree to any conditions to fight Haney, so everything will depend on Devin’s goodwill: “We’ll see if Haney wants to fight this fight. I know Loma – he will go even for a smaller fee. I know this because he wants to own these belts.”
Meanwhile, the Haney-Lomachenko fight had a potential obstacle: Stevenson and Haney’s father agreed to fight. But do not rush to be upset, because Bob Arum claims that the Lomachenko-Haney fight will be announced soon.
Source:
boxing scene
Source: https://vringe.com/news/160908-teofimo-lopes-rassuzhdaet-o-boe-vasiliya-s-kheyni.htm?rand=141343
