Opinion
Own the lead foot outside position and you will own the fight.
That has been true in boxing since the dawn of the sport.
This truth emerges from the geography of a bout when a southpaw fighter is boxing an orthodox fighter. The outside position of that lead foot, which is generally only centimetres from the other fighters’ lead foot, is so important because of the angle it generates for both fighters.
It opens up the guard of the other fighter and becomes exceptionally difficult to defend.
In a bout between two boxing PhDs, both fighters understood this truth and the bout ebbed and flowed based on who was able to execute more effectively. Devin Haney, however, was able to tweak the usual game plan for orthodox fighters to great success
Instead of throwing straight right hands to the head of the southpaw Vasiliy Lomachenko whenever he got that outside position, Haney threw his right hands to Lomachenko’s body. In cooking and in boxing, there is genius in simplicity.
Lomachenko, however, is no slouch. He did what he always does and changed angles effectively against the bigger man, however the left side of his body was getting tenderised early in the fight by Haney’s right hand.
Along with his body work, Haney was able to at least partly establish his jab in the early rounds and kept Lomachenko at bay through rounds two and three, while never forgetting his body work.
Surprisingly Haney sought to walk forward consistently and invited Lomachenko to counterpunch. Haney wanted to lead the dance and he did so pretty effectively through the first four rounds of the fight.
However, Lomachenko never stopped having moments of success, particularly with his straight left hand, and showed that Haney, for however talented he is, is not the level of defensive fighter that someone like Shakur Stevenson is let alone Floyd Mayweather.
From round five however, the Ukrainian started to adjust. Haney’s right hands to the body were often long and sweeping shots that Lomachenko was able to see and step back from or step inside of and smother easily which also got him the fight on his terms.
Haney continued to have success with that right hand, but it was starting to wane as Lomachenko’s adjustments started to bear fruit. Compounding the issue for Haney was that nothing slowed Lomachenko down. If anything, Lomachenko finished looking much the fresher man despite Haney’s body work.
Haney is an excellent boxer but he lacks the power to consistently trouble the best of the best.
Lomachenko’s superior hand and foot speed was also starting to show in the middle rounds as Loma closed the distance and neutralised the usually dominant Haney jab.
Through 10 rounds, this was two PhDs going to work in a razor close fight. And it was glorious.
Devin Haney exchanges punches with Vasyl Lomachenko (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
I had it 5-4 through 9 for Devin Haney. Even if his jab was not working as it usually would, he was doing cleaner work and owned the geography of the fight through 9 rounds. He was leading the dance.
What started in the fifth round fully came to fruition in the 10th as Lomachenko completely smothered Haney’s work every time Haney threw a sweeping right hand and got himself inside of the taller man’s range.
Lomachenko adjusted. Haney did more of the same.
With 2 minutes left in the 10th round Lomachenko stunned Haney with a big left hand, courtesy of owning the outside front foot position. Haney was able to hold on for dear life but the accuracy and sharpness of Lomachenko’s work was beginning to come into focus.
Haney was able to recover, but Lomachenko did the cleaner work in the 10th, 11th and 12th. As Tim Bradley noted, where Haney was the one walking forward earlier in the bout it was Lomachenko’s turn to be the aggressor, setting traps to land his right hook over the top of Haney’s jab and consistently doing the cleaner work upstairs.
The leader of the dance had changed entirely.
In round 11 it looked as if Lomachenko might be able to finish Haney off, but to his credit, Haney was able to stand his ground and stay on his feet.
All told, per CompuBox Lomachenko outland Haney 44-18 over the final three rounds of the fight and it felt like it. They were three clear Lomachenko rounds as Loma drowned Haney in feints, level changes and angles that no other fighter could even conceive of.
Through it all, Haney never changed his gameplan even when it was becoming clearly less effective. Haney was tired, his jab had no steam, and he was bullied and battered inside by the smaller man with the faster hands.
The fight was razor thin. As close and as high level of a fight as we have seen in boxing for some time. I had it 7 rounds to 5 for the Ukrainian but I could have understood a 7-5 scorecard in the other direction, depending on the middle rounds.
In the end the decision went to Devin Haney. This was not a robbery. It was a close fight. Though I am extremely surprised that every judge saw it the exact same way, with the exception of Dave Moretti who somehow managed to score the 10th round for Devin Haney, which was patently absurd to anyone with eyes.
In terms of what is next, for Lomachenko I just hope he is okay. The footage of him inconsolable in the dressing room post-fight was difficult to watch, especially after the performance that he put forth. I am just guessing, but I suspect that the Ukrainian boxers feel as though they are fighting for something far greater than themselves so any loss is felt even more keenly than it otherwise would be.
While he did not beat Haney, he might beat any other lightweight in the division based on that performance, including Gervonta Davis. “Tank” is probably the best lightweight in the division, but Lomachenko’s specific brand of organised chaos, his heart, and the fact that he is a southpaw like Tank might be enough to get a victory against the heavy handed American.
That would be a truly incredible fight and another with two PhD’s going head-to-head.
For Haney, I suspect that he is going to head up to 140 pounds. He has real trouble getting down to 135 and his frame and build is clearly better suited to a 140-pound fighter. Part of me wonders if his fading down the stretch is at least partly due to how significantly he depletes himself in order to make the 135-pound limit.
At 140 though, Haney’s lack of power might come to the fore more clearly and he will certainly have to tighten his occasionally suspect defence when the heavier hitters come knocking. All of that being said, I would love to see Haney against the winner of the upcoming Josh Taylor v Teofimo Lopez if Haney decides he is done with 135 pounds and eschews either a rematch with Lomachenko or a bout with Tank.
This was a great fight. Truly. And it was not a robbery. It was a close decision that reasonable minds can disagree on. All told, boxing got this one right.
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