Boxing pound-for-pound rankings: Did Devin Haney move up after controversial win over Vasiliy Lomachenko? - ESPN

In one of the most anticipated fights this year, Devin Haney defended his lightweight undisputed championship with a unanimous decision victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko in Las Vegas.

Haney (30-0, 15KOs), ESPN's best fighter under the age of 25 in 2022, won by scorecards of 115-113 (Tim Cheatham), 115-113 (David Sutherland) and 116-112 (Dave Moretti). Moretti's scorecard left fans, some media members and Lomachenko's team with some questions. Moretti was the only judge to give Haney the 10th round, a round where Haney landed only five punches and seemed to be dominated by Lomachenko. That, added to the fact that Lomachenko took control for large parts of the fight, got some of our panelists to keep Haney in his spot or even move him down.

«I dropped Devin Haney from my pound-for-pound list even in a win because in my eyes — and in the eyes of many others — it felt like Vasiliy Lomachenko won that fight,» Michael Rothstein said. «It was a close enough fight where Haney rarely seemed to have control and it doesn't feel right to keep Haney in my top 10 after a fight I believe he lost.»

Regardless of what side of the decision you are on, Haney has a win over a top fighter in Lomachenko, a former No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter and the current No. 2-ranked fighter at lightweight by ESPN.

ESPN Deportes' Salvador Rodriguez moved Haney up one spot on his list after what he said was an «epic fight for the fans, that could have gone either way.»

«A 115-113 for one or the other, or a 114-114 were in range in my opinion,» Rodriguez said. «For me, the win cemented Haney his place as one of the top 10 fighters in the world. Beating a fighter of Lomachenko's class would mean moving up a few spots, but even in victory, Haney didn't do