Top lightweights set boxing showdown in Las Vegas, sources say
Undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney will defend his title against former three-division champion Vasiliy Lomachenko on May 20 in Las Vegas, likely at MGM Grand Garden, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations.
An announcement is expected later this month for the pay-per-view bout on ESPN, which partners with Top Rank, the promoter of both fighters.
The fight is the third marquee boxing card in as many months to land in Las Vegas.
Top super middleweight contenders David Benavidez and Caleb Plant are scheduled to fight March 25 at the MGM Grand Garden via Showtime pay-per-view and Premier Boxing Champions.
Lightweight superstars Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia are battling in a 136-pound catchweight bout April 22 at T-Mobile Arena — another PBC pay-per-view via Showtime.
The 24-year-old Haney (29-0, 15 knockouts), a Las Vegas resident by way of the Bay Area, captured the undisputed lightweight crown in June. He unified his WBC title against former IBF, WBA and WBO champion George Kambosos, whom he dominated via unanimous decision in Kambosos’ native Australia.
Haney then pummeled Kambosos in an October rematch, winning again by unanimous decision. He attended Lomachenko’s last fight two weeks later — an unspectacular unanimous decision over Jamaine Ortiz in New York — where they informally began the promotion of their fight afterward in the ring.
The 35-year-old Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs), of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Ukraine, has held titles in the featherweight, junior lightweight and lightweight divisions. He was in line to fight Kambosos for the unified lightweight championship last summer before electing to remain in Ukraine amid its war with Russia.
Both brilliant technically, Haney and Lomachenko represent two of the top fighters in a division that includes Davis, Garcia and former two-division champion Shakur Stevenson, who makes his lightweight debut next month.
The fight marks Haney’s fifth in Las Vegas, while Lomachenko will fight locally for the seventh time.
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.