Devin Haney has been slapped with a hefty $400,000 fine for shoving Vasyl Lomachenko during a face-off before his controversial points win.
The American star defended his undisputed titles against Ukrainian star Lomachenko in Las Vegas last weekend, picking up a contentious points win in Las Vegas. After the fight, the challenger was left devastated with the judges' scorecards and vowed to appeal the final decision with the showdown ending up shrouded in controversy.
However the fight week had already produced some controversial moments, including at their final face-off during the final weigh-in where Haney shoved his rival. The pair were separated by an army of security, but Lomachenko did not retaliate after being carried away from his eventual conqueror.
But the undisputed champion will now lose a large chunk of his fight purse, after being handed a stiff penalty fine by the sanctioning commission. He wrote in an angry tweet: "This guy is a f*****g sore loser. Get this privileged sore loser out of boxing, he makes excuses as he goes!
"Take your loss like a man and stop crying, it was set up for you to win for the third time in your career and you failed! Tell the commission give me my 400k back for that push!" It will likely rekindle a rivalry that could eventually involve a second meeting, given Lomachenko's manager Egis Klimas wrote an open letter to the organisations to stake their belts for another time.
However this could also be plunged into doubt given Haney previously suggested he would now move up in weight following his latest win after conquering the division. There could be several alternative fights on the table for the pound-for-pound star, including against fellow countryman Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson.
Do you think Devin Haney should rematch Vasyl Lomachenko? Let us know in the comments section below
Haney felt after the final bell that he had done enough to have his hand raised, despite the verdict held by many experts and boxing fans that Lomachenko pipped him in a tight contest. Having burst into tears following the defeat, Lomachenko shared the concerns of his team and vowed that he would try to find his justice.
“I controlled the fight,” he said. “All fight I understand that I was winning the fight. So for me it’s a big surprise. 12 rounds and I was sure I won this fight. But it is what it is. I controlled every round. It is a big, big question what happened in the result today. I don’t want to talk about [the decision].
"All the people saw what happened today. Before, I thought he would be better. He’s a tough fighter. He’s a good fighter. But he’s not a pound-for-pound fighter. It is a big, big question what happened in the result today. I think I showed that I can still be in boxing."
