Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko are reportedly close to making their lightweight championship showdown official.
'The Dream' and 'Loma' have a long history together, despite never meeting in the ring. Haney famously captured lightweight gold by outpointing George Kambosos Jr. last June, winning by a lopsided unanimous decision.
The 24-year-old went on to defeat 'The Emperor' again by decision in October to retain his titles. However, as the story goes, Haney was never supposed to face Kambosos Jr. Vasyl Lomachenko was initially slated to receive a title shot last June.
However, the former champion wound up turning down the title shot to enlist in the Ukrainian military. Lomachenko remained in his home country to fight amidst the Russian invasion but eventually returned to training late last year.
In October, the former champion made his return against Jamaine Ortiz. Lomachenko wound up picking up the victory by unanimous decision and expressed his desire to face Haney in a lightweight title fight next.
It seems that he will get his wish. As first reported by Dan Canobbio of Inside Boxing Live, the two are reportedly in discussions to face off on May 20th. As of now, it's not known if the fight will be on pay-per-view or ESPN.
See Canobbio's tweet below:
What is also not known is where the fight will take place. Devin Haney seemed excited about the contest as he responded to Canobbio's tweet. The lightweight champion dubbed the matchup a "real legacy fight."
See Haney's tweet below:
Bob Arum gives update on Devin Haney vs. Vasyl Lomachenko
According to Bob Arum, Devin Haney vs. Vasyl Lomachenko is essentially a done deal.
The head of Top Rank recently discussed the lightweight title fight in an interview with BoxingScene. There, Arum stated that the fight is absolutely on, and confirmed in the prior report that May 20th is the target date.
However, the longtime boxing promoter also admitted that the fight isn't entirely a done deal. Specifically, Arum stated that the venue and location for the matchup aren't set in stone.
Beyond that, it's also not confirmed where the fight will air. While Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko are both ESPN fighters, a matchup of that magnitude could land on pay-per-view.
During the interview, Bob Arum stated:
“That fight is all agreed to and everything. And the date is pretty well set, May 20th. Now, the issue is where it’s gonna be... Will it be in Las Vegas? Quite possibly. Or will it be in the Middle East, where they’re making overtures to do the fight? We’ll have an answer for you probably within 10 days. But there’s no question that the fight is on.”