Lomachenko’s Big Mistake Cost Him The Haney Fight

Vasiliy Lomachenko has revealed that he did not make a serious effort to win the 12th round against Devin Haney.

The Ukrainian was left frustrated after all three judges awarded Haney the win by unanimous decision.

And given the closeness on the scorecards, 16-112, 115-113, 115-113, it appears that Lomachenko’s lack of urgency in the last round cost him.

It is not surprising, then, that the reaction split the fan base, with some deeming it a robbery while others recognised that it was a close fight which could have swung either way.

But for Loma, the lightweight was left dumbfounded by the outcome, which is why he seemingly took his foot off the gas in the last round.

Vasyl Lomachenko admits he took the final round off in his defeat to Devin Haney because he felt he'd already done enough to win the fight comfortably…

[🎥 @TRBoxing] pic.twitter.com/rSmNHk4EDE

— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) May 21, 2023

“After every round when I came back in the corner I understand, ‘Okay, it’s my round, it’s my round.’

“When we’re going into the 12th round, I understand, ‘Okay, maybe I need to use a little bit defence and I can give him this round.’

“I don’t need to win this round because I was winning another 11 rounds it looks like. I don’t say every round, but during the 11 rounds, I understand it was my score. I don’t know, maybe I don’t understand boxing,” Lomachenko 

The mistake, which ultimately cost him, did not go down well on social media since the fan base felt Loma had no one to blame but himself for the outcome. 

Social Media Reaction 

That was a mistake

— Banda Propaganda (@bigboxingguy) May 21, 2023

Champs don’t take rounds off.

— Sensei (@MgotTheJuice) May 21, 2023

Rookie mistake

— Total Crime (@totalcrime) May 21, 2023