Devin Haney admits he is looking to send Vasiliy Lomachenko into retirement, ahead of their much-anticipated fight in Las Vegas on May 20.
Haney will defend his undisputed lightweight titles against Lomachenko at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, live on Sky Sports.
‘The Dream’ says his ill-feeling towards ‘Loma’ stems from his belief that the Ukrainian three-weight world champion avoided a showdown with him in 2019 and insists that this has provided him with added motivation to end the 35-year-old’s career.
“He made me wait four years to fight him,” the 22-year-old said on Top Rank’s Episode 1 of Blood Sweat and Tears.
“Since I was 20-years-old.
“So I don’t like Loma. I want to beat him bad.
“I want to send him into retirement.”
Haney, who is unbeaten in 29 professional bouts, secured all four major belts, when he added George Kambosos Jr’s WBA ‘super’, IBF and WBO titles to his WBC belt last June and followed this up with another comprehensive victory in October, both wins coming in Kambosos Jr’s native Australia.
Lomachenko has won three on the spin since losing for only the second time in his career and his lightweight titles to Teofimo Lopez in October 2020, who was then later dethroned by the aforementioned Kambosos Jr.
‘Loma’, who defeated Jamaine Ortiz by unanimous decision in October, declined a shot at Kambosos Jr before Haney received his opportunity, after opting to remain in Ukraine to defend his country from the invasion of Russia.
Haney, who heads into Saturday’s showdown as the bookies favourite to retain his titles, believes he has all the attributes to overcome the double Olympic Gold medalist.
“Loma has never been the underdog,” he added.
“This time he’s fighting the champion.
“He’s fighting a bigger guy, stronger guy, faster guy, younger guy.
“All odds are stacked against him.”
