Todd DuBoef has warned Devin Haney not to underestimate Vasiliy Lomachenko as he heads out to defend his undisputed crown in their upcoming clash scheduled for May 20.
Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) will take on Ukraine's Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to defend his WBA, IBF, WBO, and WBC lightweight titles on Saturday.
Sharing his take ahead of the fight, DuBoef told Sky Sports that it would be a great achievement for Haney to defeat Loma at this point as Loma believes he is still at his peak despite his age.
"Loma says he is 100 percent and the finest he could be. So if Haney can take out Lomachenko at his finest, I think that is a very, very big mark for Devin to accomplish. Devin, we've seen, he's got great size, great speed, good footwork, really quick hands. But this is the matrix, you do not know what you're in with. He's going to learn a lot on Saturday night, if he hasn't already. Because he's going to get a master's degree from one of the great fighters of our era," the Top Rank boss said.
Despite the huge age gap, and many suggesting that Lomachenko is on the decline and Haney on the rise, DuBoef firmly believes that Lomachenko will unquestionably be the most significant test of Haney's young career, regardless of the outcome. He added that it will be a big mistake for Haney to underestimate his next opponent.
"That's a big mistake [to write off Lomachenko]. It's easy, it's like you've got the new shiny car and jump on, but forgot about that workhorse that was just so beautifully driven for a decade. You just forget so quickly. I would not forget Loma. He does things in the ring that we have never seen. The footwork, the ability to throw punches from all these different angles. And I'm not sure Haney has seen anything like this, because most fighters haven't seen what Loma can do," Duboef said.
Beatrice Adamu is a writer for AceTVBoxing.com. She can be reached on Twitter @oh_stillbella or via email: adamubeatrice13@gmail.com.
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