Vasyl Lomachenko cut a dejected figure in the ring as the judges awarded Devin Haney a unanimous points victory in their fight for the undisputed lightweight world crown – but he couldn’t contain his emotions as he soaked up defeat in his dressing room afterwards.
The Ukrainian was captured on video bursting into uncontrollable tears after the fight in Las Vegas on Saturday night, at one point covering his face with both hands as he rocked and sobbed.
It was a remarkable display of emotion from the 35-year-old, who is known for his ability to remain cool, calm and collected no matter what happens in the ring.
After 12 rounds of top quality, back and forth action, the judges scored it 116-112 115-113 115-113 in favor of a delighted Haney – but Lomachenko immediately lashed out at the score.
Lomachenko was completely overwhelmed with emotion after his narrow defeat to Haney
The future Hall of Famer couldn’t hold back tears and was racked with sobs after refusing to discuss the judges’ decision before leaving the ring
Asked his thoughts on the result before walking back to the locker room, he told the crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, “I don’t want to talk about this.
“All people see what happened today.
“I think I’ve shown that I can box and I’m in shape. I can’t talk about the result now, it’s just not a pleasant moment for me at the moment, but thank you to everyone who came.’
He added: “Everything was in the rules. I thought he (Haney) would be better, but he’s a tough fighter, but he’s not the pound-for-pound fighter.
“Right now I want to go home and support my country and my Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”
Lomachenko beat his American rival, according to Compubox stats, landing 124 shots to Haney’s 110 and throwing 314 power punches compared to 217.
The Ukrainian superstar probably had his best round of the fight in the 10th, when he appeared to hurt Haney with sharp punches
Compubox stats showed Lomachenko beat and beat the undisputed lightweight champion and many fans and pundits were confused at the result
He was especially strong in rounds 10 and 11 when he appeared to hurt Haney with his famously fast and accurate punches.
Outraged fans, however, seized on judge Dave Moretti’s score, who scored the 10th round 10-9 to Haney, giving the American four of the last five rounds.
“In which world is round 10 a Haney round?” one fan tweeted.
“Moretti needs to be examined. This made me stop wanting to watch boxing,” another wrote.
“The 10th round was Loma’s most dominant round smh,” added a third.
Famed fight coach Teddy Atlas wrote, “Moretti has been confirmed to give Haney the 10th round, so now the almighty Commission must act as Commission there and investigate.”
Former world champion and title contender Shakur Stevenson said he thought Lomachenko won because he “landed the cleaner punches and the better shots.” He picked up the pace.”
And he wasn’t alone, with former UFC star Daniel Cormier simply tweeting “Boxing” when he saw the result.
WBO featherweight world champion Robeisy Ramirez posted a photo of himself with Lomachenko and the caption, “This is just wrong. I am incredibly disappointed. This man won tonight.’
Fight fans and pundits the size of famed fight trainer Teddy Atlas were outraged by Judge Dave Moretti’s (center column, above) score giving the 10th round to Haney
Haney said a mega fight against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis ‘will happen sooner or later’ after defending his undisputed world title for a second time
In a post-fight press conference, Haney talked about who his next opponent might be. Stevenson would like a run on the tyres, but the undisputed champion seems to have someone else in mind.
“Tank (Gervonta Davis) is a huge fight and it’s going to happen sooner or later,” he said.
Haney (30-0, 15 KOs), 24, had unified all four major titles with a victory over George Kambosos Jr. from Australia in June 2022 – something he successfully defended against the same opponent in October.
Lomachenko had won three consecutive fights leading up to this clash.
Keen to prove he wasn’t a weak force against the bright young star in Haney, the Ukrainian impressed throughout the fight, consistently hitting back when his opponent tried to gain momentum.
The American – who was booed by the crowd – seemed much more aggressive than usual as he took on an increasingly open stance and tried to assert himself.
But Loma started fast and his traditional fast hands and great footwork showed as they kept going back and forth.