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Devin Haney & Vasiliy Lomachenko Ready For Saturday's
Undisputed Lightweight Showdown
Two kings. One undisputed title.
Devin “The Dream” Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) is set to defend his
undisputed lightweight championship against Ukraine's
three-division world champion Vasiliy “Loma” Lomachenko
(17-2, 11 KOs) this Saturday, May 20, at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Haney vs. Lomachenko will stream live on Top Rank on ESPN+
PPV, the event’s exclusive digital distributor in the United
States, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Priced at $59.99
across all distributors, it also will be available via cable
and satellite pay-per-view providers.
The PPV undercard features a 10-round junior lightweight
co-feature between two-division world champion Oscar Valdez
(30-1, 23 KOs) and Adam “BluNose” Lopez (16-4, 6 KOs) in a
rematch of their 2019 battle.
In the PPV opener, rising lightweight Raymond “Danger”
Muratalla (17-0, 14 KOs) will take on big-punching Namibian
contender Jeremia Nakathila (23-2, 19 KOs) in a 10-round
clash.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Devin Haney
Promotions and DiBella Entertainment, tickets are on sale
now at axs.com.
At Wednesday's press conference, this is what the fighters
had to say:
Devin Haney
“I feel like he should have fought me four years ago. But
now the time has come. It’s going to be worse for him than
it would have been had we fought back then.”
“On paper, this is my toughest test. But I look to make it
an easy night. I look to make it as easy as possible and
come out victorious.”
“I have been calling for this fight for four years. But the
time has finally come. I take my hat off to him. I respect
everything that he’s done. I respect his decision to stay
and defend his country. That gave me my shot to go to
Australia, so it was only right that I give him the shot as
well.”
“I know what he is preparing for. But at the end of the day,
we’re prepared for whatever he brings to the table. If he
wants to make it a dirty fight, we have answers for that.”
Vasiliy Lomachenko
“Camp was hard like always. But I was very motivating. It
was motivating because I understand. It is my last chance to
become undisputed. So, I pushed myself in every training
session. And now there are just four days left.”
“He talks about the past, but It’s hard to say things about
the past. You can’t change it. Even if you talk about it,
you can’t change it. Only God can change it.”
“He is a high-level boxer. He understands boxing. He knows
what he needs to do. He can use his reach. He can use his
feet. He can create distance. But I have a lot of experience
in this sport. It will be very interesting for me.”
Oscar Valdez
“I’m excited because it’s been one year since my last fight.
I’m coming off a loss, so I’m motivated. It doesn’t matter
if you lose. What matters is how you come back. I’m going to
come back and make a statement.”
“This is the perfect time for the rematch. This is what I
love to do. I love being in the gym. I love training. I love
fighting. You’re going to see something different Saturday
night.”
“Eddy Reynoso is a great trainer. We always work on a lot of
things. One thing that is always clear for me is that he
works on the defense."
“That doesn’t mean we’re not going to be offensive. We’re
always going to keep that defense ready so that we don’t
have any surprises.”
Adam Lopez
“I’m surprised this rematch is happening. Oscar said he'd
give me the rematch after our first fight. But it never
happened. We went our separate ways. But it’s coming back
full circle. I think it’s great that it’s happening on this
card. It’s a huge fight. People wanted to see it. I’m
excited for it.”
“I’m a different fighter now. He fought me when I was 23
years old with 15 fights. I’m 27 now with 21 fights. I’ve
been in there with some of the best since the fight with
him. I’ve taken some losses, but I have learned from them.
I’ve always taken tough fights.”
“I’m at my best. I’m in the best shape of my life. It’s a
different story this time. If he thinks this is a tune-up
fight, then he’s going to have a long night.”
Raymond Muratalla
“I’m just ready to be a champ. This is nothing but hard work
that we’ve been putting in. I can’t wait for Saturday. I’m
trying to show people that I’m the next 135-pound champion.”
“I didn’t warm up like I usually do in my last fight. So, I
got knocked down {in the first round}. But I got back up,
and I got the stoppage.”
“I’m ready. I’m ready for anyone. To be the best, you have
to go through these people. I’m just trying to get to the
top. I’m going to take care of business this Saturday.”
Jeremia Nakathila
“I can’t wait for Saturday night to do my thing. I’m excited
to be here. We are looking forward to making a statement.”
“The last time I was in Las Vegas you were all able to see
what I displayed against Miguel Berchelt. This Saturday, you
will see more than that. I saw that Muratalla wanted to
fight me on social media. I saw him mention my name. But I
want to say that he can’t handle what he called out.”
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