Vasyl Lomachenko Compares His Loss to Devin Haney With Madrimov to Terence Crawford in Brutally Honest Confession

Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound best Terence Crawford clinched a unanimous decision win against Israil Madrimov last weekend at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Ukrainian boxing great Vasyl Lomachenko has shared his thoughts about the results, especially since Madrimov proved to be the toughest challenge yet for Crawford.

The fight started with both fighters cautiously sizing each other up, but later rounds saw Madrimov start dominating. Crawford just couldn’t catch his opponent’s fast movement, but quickly came back in the game in the final rounds. This seemed eerily similar to Lomachenko, who compared their fight to his own against Devin Haney during an interview. 

Vasyl Lomachenko not sold on decision! 

Speaking to Fight Hub TV on his way out of the stadium on Sunday, Lomachenko said, “It’s a very close fight”. When asked whether he had the Uzbekistani boxer winning, the Ukrainian responded, “By points, it was a very close fight, very smart fight”. Yet when the reporter probed Lomachenko one more time, this time rather directly, ‘Loma’ shared his actual thoughts.

Answering whether he felt Madrimov did enough to win, Lomachenko said, “No, how about compare my fight with Haney? Madrimov was a champion, so it’s enough for win the title”. Interestingly, Lomachenko and Devin Haney went toe to toe back in May last year, which saw the duo lock horns in an extremely close bout.

However, at the end Devin Haney was given the unanimous decision win, even though the decision could have gone either way. It was speculated that because Haney had the belts going in, the decision tipped on his side. So, with Madrimov’s loss, ‘Loma’ highlighted that the Uzbek fighter was the champion, so it was indeed enough to win. Regardless, ‘Bud’ seems content with his performance. 

Terence Crawford brands Madrimov disciplined

The slow start to the fight didn’t quite sit well with the audience who waited for the main event throughout the long card under the sun. But Crawford would turn the pressure on in the fourth, which he explained in the post fight in-ring interview, “I didn’t want to rush in with anything because that’s how I got caught a couple times, rushing in, trying to eat too soon. But I did my thing”. 

Despite that, Madrimov came alive in the 5th round after Crawford ended up on his back because of a slip. More aggressive punches from Madrimov, and Crawford went into defense mode, which continued for the next two rounds. “He was waiting to counter me just like I was trying to counter him. He was very disciplined, he wasn’t coming in throwing them wild shots like I intended him to, and it was a very good fight”, Crawford said. 

Having said that, the fight results seems to have opened up some old wounds for Vasyl Lomachenko. Nonetheless, the point is the fight proved Terence Crawford isn’t as untouchable as some thought. Not to mention, the thinking also seems to have shifted! The people who thought Crawford could beat Canelo Alvarez have their own doubts now. What did you think of the fight?