Haney and Lomachenko Give Lightweight Boxing a Stirring Matchup

At lightweight, Haney owns all four belts. One division, one champion.

Still, some peers and potential opponents debate his credentials.

Haney first became the World Boxing Council’s lightweight champion in 2019, when the organization promoted him from interim champion, essentially awarding him a title without a fight. Those events prompted Davis to label him an “email champion.”

And his shot at Kambosos came only after Lomachenko, who was already contracted to challenge Kambosos, turned the fight down. When Russian troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Lomachenko paused his boxing career to join the military; Haney replaced him against Kambosos and won three titles.

Lomachenko resumed his career last October, winning a 12-round decision over Jamaine Ortiz. At 35, Lomachenko does not see his age as a disadvantage, but acknowledges that, nine years after he won his first world title, his window of opportunity is shrinking.

“This is my last chance to be undisputed world champion,” said Lomachenko, who is 17-2 with 11 knockouts. “Right now, at this moment, it’s the most interesting weight class in the world, and you need, always, to prove you’re the best.”

Haney first lobbied for a Lomachenko bout in early 2019, when Haney was a highly regarded prospect who had not yet won a world title, and when Lomachenko held title belts from two major sanctioning bodies.

Lomachenko’s manager, Egis Klimas, rebuffed Haney’s camp for logistical reasons — Haney was aligned with Matchroom Boxing, which streams its events on DAZN, while Lomachenko was committed to Top Rank and ESPN. But Klimas also pointed out that Haney had not yet achieved enough to deserve a high-profile, big-money bout against Lomachenko.