While the big names in heavyweight boxing are sitting on their hands, squabbling about numbers, boxing’s lightweight division is quite the contrary. Yet another big bout looms this weekend as undisputed champion Devin Haney takes on Ukrainian legend Vasyl Lomachenko for all the belts in the lightweight division.
This is about as good as it gets in terms of matchups and is perfectly called the ‘Checkmate.’ A big man who has squeezed into lightweight versus a little man who has stepped up to the division. A young, hungry champion against a wily veteran in the twilight of his career. Lefty vs righty. Everything about this fight is intriguing, as two elite boxers step into the ring and pit themselves against each other for 12 rounds.
Whether Haney stays undefeated or Lomachenko yet again dons the champion belts will be revealed on Saturday night. In the meantime, we break down the best Haney vs Loma betting tips based on the latest odds.
| ℹ️ Weight Class/Division: | Lightweight, 12 rounds (WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO titles) |
| 🏟️ Venue: | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| 🗓️ Date: | May 13th, 2023 |
| ⏰ Time: | from 9:00 PM EST |
These two have never fought before as professionals. There was talk of a fight four years ago, which never came to fruition – a contributing factor in the bad blood between Haney and Lomachenko. Both men have fought Jorge Linares in the past five years, with Haney winning on decision and Lomachenko scoring a round 10 knockout.
To set the scene for our Devin Haney vs Vasiliy Lomachenko prediction, let’s look at the latest boxing odds. Right now, Haney vs Lomachenko odds are as follows:
As expected, the younger, incumbent champion is the favorite in this bout. Haney is paying 1.36 (4/11) to win, while Lomachenko is much longer at 3.10 (21/10). In terms of method of victory, by far the most likely at the bookies is a Haney decision, paying 1.67 (4/6), before a Lomachenko decision and Haney knockout are at 4.00 (3/1) and 7.00 (6/1), respectively.
25+ sportsSuperb bonusesEasy to useVIP programLive gamesMany bonusesMany bonuses24/7 supportMobile appsLive bettingMany sportsFast payoutsGreat supportMobile appsLive bettingIt has all been one-way traffic in Devin Haney’s career so far. The American is undefeated across 29 fights and currently holds the WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring lightweight titles. Most recently, ‘the Dream’ has collected a pair of victories over George Kambosos Jr. in 2022, winning both by unanimous decision.
Size, youth, and home advantage. Haney is a much bigger man than Lomachenko – and while this doesn’t necessarily translate into knockout power in Haney’s case, he will have the ability to outmuscle him in the clinch. He’s also younger, faster, and will have the crowd behind him.
Lomachenko suffered the first real defeat of his career in 2020 (the other came in 2014 when he was 1-0-0). Since then, Loma has bounced back well with three consecutive wins over Masayoshi Nakatani, Richard Commey, and Jamaine Ortiz. Increasingly, the veteran has been taking longer out of the blocks and wasn’t at his best until midway through his fights against Ortiz and Commey.
Stance and experience. Lomachenko’s southpaw stance gives him the ability to negate Haney’s jab, one of the champion’s biggest weapons. He’s also by far the most skilled, elite boxer that Haney has fought in his career – a veteran of Lomachenko’s caliber will always have some tricks up his sleeve to negate the game plan of his opponent.
Time to head to the US boxing bookies and offer up our best three Devin Haney vs Vasiliy Lomchenko tips. Based on the latest Haney vs Loma odds, here are the wagers we suggest taking:
This is what the champion does. He’s no knockout artist, but Devin Miles Haney certainly is proficient at taking a fight the distance and winning on points. Across his career, he’s done it 14 times, and Saturday night will most likely be the 15th time.
There’s a saying that a good big fighter is better than a good small fighter. That’s the case here – both men are excellent boxers, but Haney’s size is likely to determine the fight. Expect the champion to start fast, win the first half of the bout, then finish strong to smother Lomachenko and prevent the challenger from winning on the scoreboard.
Haney is most likely to win this fight – he’s younger, bigger, and the champion. But it would be remiss to rule out the Ukrainian veteran, and a Lomachenko win is paying well at 3.10 (21/20). While Haney really just has one path to victory, Lomachenko is a creative boxer and could well come out with a fresh strategy. He also has the power to pick up knockouts, something he may well do here. Experts also perceive Loma did his homework after dropping the movement advantage over Teofimo Lopez and lost by points to a bigger fighter.
Backing Lomachenko to win via any method is a good mix of safe and lucrative. It may not be the most likely outcome, but there’s still a strong chance the veteran puts in a big performance and wins on Saturday. All in all, we saw how smaller but faster Oleksandr Usyk outpunched a younger and bigger Anthony Joshua two times.
It’s rare to see such high odds for a fight not going the distance. The reality is these odds are inflated because of each boxer’s recent results – Haney has won his last six by decision, and Loma his last two. However, Haney could well finish Lomachenko in a late flurry to solidify his champion status, while Lomachenko’s knockout power is also present. Betting against the trend here could prove to be lucrative.
There are plenty of great bets to be made on Saturday night as two of lightweight’s best get in the ring to fight for all the division’s belts. The bottom line is that Devin Haney should do his best to win this clash on points and satisfy the majority of Las Vegas bookies’ clients. Those who want a higher reward could bet against this for a Loma win or the fight to end early, but chances are, the belts stay with the champion.
