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The lightweight division is one of boxing’s deepest and most exciting weight classes. Devin Haney won the undisputed championship by defeating George Kambosos Jr. on the road in Australia, but his title defense Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas against former pound-for-pound No. 1 Vasiliy Lomachenko will be the first true test of his career.
Haney is 29-0 with 15 knockouts, but has yet to face anyone nearly as talented, as experienced and simply as good as Lomachenko.
Oddsmakers installed Haney as a little better than a 2-to-1 favorite when the fight was originally announced. At BetMGM, Haney is currently at -300 while Lomachenko will more than double the money wagered on him if he wins at +240.
Haney is +500 to win by KO/TKO/DQ and is a -150 favorite to win by decision. The southpaw Lomachenko is +700 to win by KO/TKO/DQ. He’s +330 to win by decision.
As Haney noted — correctly — Lomachenko’s so-so performance in a win over Jamaine Ortiz in October has to be taken with a grain of salt because Lomachenko was fighting for his country before the bout was made. He got permission from the Ukraine government to box and so his performance may not have been indicative of the fighter he still is.
Lomachenko is 35, though, and that’s a dangerous age for a fighter who relies on his reflexes so much. Even though he’s had only 19 pro fights, he’s had about 397 amateur bouts (winning 396!) and so he has a lot more wear and tear on his body than one might think.
Lomachenko has been a wizard throughout his career, though, and he’s a surefire Hall of Famer when he retires. But he’ll also be giving up size to Haney, who dwarfed him when they met in the ring at Madison Square Garden in New York after Lomachenko had slipped past Ortiz. Haney’s an inch taller but has a six-inch reach advantage.
Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole is ringside and will provide updates in our live tracker below.
Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko live updates
Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko main card, odds (Live now on ESPN+ PPV)
• Lightweight: Devin Haney (-300 vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko (+240)
• Super bantamweight: Oscar Valdez def. Adam Lopez by unanimous decision (98-92, 98-91, 97-93)
• Lightweight: Raymond Muratalla def. Jeremia Nakathila by TKO at 2:40 of R2