Lightweight contender Shakur Stevenson 20-0 (10) believes former three-weight world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko 17-3 (11) deserved to win the undisputed 135-pound championship from Devin Haney 30-0 (15) when the pair met at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night.
American Haney, 24, retained his WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF lightweight titles with a unanimous decision victory over the 35-year-old Ukrainian southpaw. The scores were 116-112 and 115-113 twice.
The 25-year-old Stevenson, a southpaw from Newark, New Jersey, watched the fight from ringside and thought that Lomachenko did enough to get the decision.
“Clean punches, good boxing, higher work rate. He looked like the old Lomachenko tonight,” Stevenson said to FightHype.
He thought Haney’s body shots weren’t as effective as the commentary team made out.
“He wasn’t landing them too clean. They weren’t real clean shots. Sometimes they was, but the majority of the fight it wasn’t,” said Stevenson, the WBC number one contender at lightweight.
“I’m not going to shit on him, but I felt that Lomachenko won the fight.
“I’m fighting the winner next. I mean, it depends on if [Haney’s] going to stay at 135 because I’m hearing that he’s going to go up.”
“I am [activating WBC mandatory to force title shot against Haney]. I heard him a lot about him staying at 135, so that’s the only problems that I have of the weight problems.
“It’s not enough because, like I said, he’s got to cut all that weight. He looked a little weak in there. He didn’t look too strong. Whatever he do, he can’t fuck with me.”
Whether the fight gets made or not will largely come down to promoter Bob Arum.
“I haven’t had too much conversation with [Arum], but we’re going to talk,” Stevenson said. “I don’t have nothing bad to say about Bob. I’m just staying focused on the main goal.”
Asked who would win between Haney and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis 29-0 (27), Haney replied: “I think y’all know. I ain’t going to tell you. That’s between them.”
He added: “Anybody can get it. I think me and Lomachenko would be a really good fight. Lomachenko looked like the old Lomachenko tonight. So I would definitely be down to fight Lomachenko.”
Haney was booed by his hometown fans throughout the fight, who repeatedly chanted “Loma, Loma, Loma”.
“It’s kind of weird, especially because Devin has lived in Vegas most of his life. It is a little bit weird, but I don’t know what’s up with the fans,” Stevenson said.
Stevenson and Haney have history. They have sparred many rounds in the past.
“I just felt like I was the better fighter,” Stevenson said. “I feel like I’m the best fighter in boxing and I stand on that. I’m not just saying that for the fans or the media. That’s something I actually believe.
“I just stood next to him [Haney], and he’s not that much bigger than me. I’m right there in size. Lomachenko is a lot smaller than him, but I’m right there in size for sure.”