When Devin Haney had to pay a fat fine for weigh-in infraction but later received partial pardon after title defense
Devin Haney once had to shell out a significant sum for a weigh-in incident. 'The Dream' was hit with a fine due to his action against the legendary Vasiliy Lomachenko at the weigh-in before their high-profile undisputed lightweight (135-pound) title showdown.
Haney put his WBA (Super), WBC, WBO, IBF, and The Ring lightweight titles on the line against Lomachenko on May 20, 2023. Their long-awaited fight turned out to be an exciting and grueling one. While Haney emerged victorious via unanimous decision, many felt 'Loma' did enough to outpoint him.
Moreover, it was confirmed that Devin Haney faced a massive fine for a fight week infraction. Before their thrilling fight transpired on Saturday (May 20, 2023), Haney violently shoved Lomachenko across the stage during their ceremonial weigh-in face-off on Friday.
Thankfully, Lomachenko avoided injury and was able to compete the following day. However, the NSAC (Nevada State Athletic Commission) soon addressed Haney's act of unprovoked violence.
While verbal and physical altercations are commonplace in the combat sports industry, the weigh-in face-offs and other such occasions call for both fighters to exercise restraint and forgo physical violence.
Incidentally, at the UFC Vegas 24 (April 17, 2021) MMA event, Jeremy Stephens executed a violent shove against Drakkar Klose at the weigh-ins. Their scheduled lightweight bout was canceled, as Klose suffered a spinal injury and concussion due to the shove.
With such incidents having taken place, the NSAC seemingly adopted a strict stance against Devin Haney in regard to his weigh-in shove of Vasiliy Lomachenko. The NSAC fined him $400k, which was around 10 percent of Haney's disclosed fight purse.
Additionally, Lomachenko's manager filed an appeal to overturn the win because the Ukrainian fighter and his team disagreed with the judges' verdict. Haney disapproved of the fine and Lomachenko's appeal, and labeled 'Loma' a sore loser.
That said, in June 2023, it was reported that Haney had received a partial pardon, whereby the fine had been reduced from $400k down to $25k. Ergo, he would get back the $375k that he was fined.
Watch the weigh-in shove below:
Devin Haney vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko: Looking at the current situation of 'The Dream' and 'Loma'
The Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko feud witnessed several heated exchanges over the years. Speaking to 78SPORTSTV in 2020, Haney addressed a potential Vasiliy Lomachenko fight and asserted that he'll "never lose to a white boy." Haney's comments were deemed racist by many.
For his part, 'The Dream' later indicated that he wasn't racist and was just "chasing greatness." After fighting Lomachenko, Haney moved up in weight and defeated Regis Prograis via unanimous decision to win the WBC super lightweight (140-pound) title in December 2023.
Devin Haney then suffered a majority decision defeat against Ryan Garcia in April 2024, a verdict later overturned to an NC (No Contest). Haney, who's still the WBC super lightweight champion, has indicated that he'll likely wait to face Garcia in a rematch after the latter's one-year PED suspension ends.
Meanwhile, Vasiliy Lomachenko followed up his razor-thin defeat against Devin Haney by defeating George Kambosos Jr. via 11th-round TKO to capture the vacant IBF lightweight title in May 2024. Furthermore, it's believed that Lomachenko could face WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis in a title unifier later this year.