This Saturday night featured arguably the two highest quality fights that we will see in 2023. The two bouts in consideration, Devin Haney vs Vasil Lomachenko and Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron, delivered not only between the ropes, but they delivered with drama on the scorecards as well, leaving the boxing community in a state of shock and awe.
The first bout to take place Saturday was the undisputed lightweight women's champion Katie Taylor moving up in weight to challenge the undisputed light welterweight champion, Chantelle Cameron. The bout was Taylor's first ever in her home country of Ireland, and was set to serve as not only a homecoming for Taylor, but a buildup to the rematch of her Fight of the Year against Amanda Serrano.
Instead, Cameron played spoiler, earning the upper hand against Taylor through most of the fight, beating Katie to the punch and scoring with straight right hands. Katie returned fire with combinations, but was unable to score any meaningful damage before Cameron was able to exit. The scorecards were announced as 95-95, and 96-94 (x2) for Cameron, bringing a stunned silence over the crowd in Ireland. Though the cards were close, it would have been easy to see Cameron earning a wider margin here.
The loss is a tough one for Taylor, the first of her career. It is common to see a fighter begin to decline with age, and with Katie just over six weeks away from her 37th birthday, this will likely be the common diagnosis from the boxing community. But we can't dismiss the fact that Taylor was moving up in weight in this bout to challenge an undisputed champion, and as we saw with Canelo Alvarez against Dimitry Bivol, sometimes size does matter. Where Taylor goes from here, it is very possible that she still revisits the rematch with Serrano, as Taylor technically still has all of her championships, but there's no doubt a little of the luster from that bout will have worn off following Katie's first defeat. As for Cameron, she has now defeated the champion above her in Jessica McCaskill, and the champion below her in Katie Taylor. There's always the possibility of a rematch with McCaskill, as well as a defense against the surging Kali Reis. As it stands, this is the biggest win of Cameron's career thus far.
The second undisputed championship bout of the evening was far more contentious, as Vasil Lomachenko challenged Devin Haney in an attempt to regain all those beautiful lightweight belts. Many elements of the encounter were on fans' minds leading up to the bout, including Devin Haney's weight cut, Haney's accusations that Lomachenko is a dirty fighter, Loma's tendency to start slow and come on late, and lastly the push by Haney during Friday's weigh ins. One way or another, all of these factors came in to play during the bout, so let's take a look at exactly what went down.
To start, Lomachenko came out fast, engaging right away and not taking much time to "download" his opponent's movement. While Loma attacked, Haney did a good job of landing counter rights to the body, and likely took the first round. The next two rounds were more of the same high paced action, with Loma putting combinations together and landing with straight left hands while Haney probed with his jab and continued to land the right hook to the body. These two rounds felt like Loma rounds.
From here, Loma seemed to noticeably slow down, and wasn't as aggressive he was in the opening rounds. At the same time, Haney wasn't landing as much to the body as he had been. At the midway point, it became apparent that adjustments would need to be made in order for either fighter to gain any ground. After eight rounds, I had the score even, four rounds to four. This is where it gets tricky.
The final four rounds played out as follows. Round 9 was a close round that arguably goes to Haney because Loma seemed to be saving himself for the last stretch. Round 10 was a clear Lomachenko round, as he rocked Haney with a combination and had him on skates. Round 11 also seemed a clear Lomachenko round, as he was putting combinations together and landing with ease while Haney wasn't sending anything back. The final round was another close round, as Haney finally turned it on and attacked, but Loma still landed more clean shots. So we have two clear rounds for Lomachenko, and two close rounds which could arguably go either way.
My final scorecard read 115-113 for Lomachenko, as I gave Loma rounds 10, 11 and 12 to close out the fight, and the 9th round to Haney. The judges on hand saw the fight differently, seeing the bout for Devin Haney with scores of 116-112 and 115-113 (x2). Through eight rounds, all three judges had the bout scored 77-75 for Haney, though their scores varied on four of the eight rounds. Judges Tim Cheatham and David Sutherland then split the final four rounds, giving 10 and 11 to Lomachenko, and rounds 9 and 12 to Haney. The third judge, Dave Morretti gave Haney three of the final four rounds, inexplicably giving the tenth round to Devin despite the champion not only being outstruck by Lomachenko, but being put on wobbly legs, the only time throughout the entire fight that either man was noticeably hurt. In the grand scheme of things, had Morretti given the tenth to Lomachenko instead, Haney still would have won 115-113 on his cards. But it's the fact that Morretti would score the tenth round for Haney that brings his overall judgement into question. What kinds of things is he looking at or looking for during a fight? Judging is a constant area of criticism for the world of boxing, and it is damn well time that we start having judges and referees participate in post fight press conferences to explain the reasoning behind their decisions.
To say this fight was a robbery would be a stretch. Had it ended in a draw, or some variation of a majority/split decision, it would have been understandable. But when a unanimous decision is called, with one scorecard giving Haney eight rounds to four, it is hard not to shake your head at the result. From here, the sky's the limit for the 24 year old Haney. It's no secret that 135lbs is a tough weight cut for the undisputed champ, but Haney insists he still has one or two more fights left before he moves up to 140, and he made that clear by calling out Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson in his post fight interview. Whether Haney actually follows through with those bouts is another question, as many pundits see Haney being unable to outbox Shakur, and unable to handle the power of Tank Davis.
The more likely route is that following two successful defenses of his undisputed crown, Haney vacates all them beautiful belts and moves up to the 140lb division where a bevy of fresh names await, including Josh Taylor, Teofimo Lopez, Regis Prograis, and longtime rival Ryan Garcia. Any one of those fights would produce big numbers, while also serving as easier opposition for Haney.
On the opposite side of things, this is a devastating loss for Lomachenko. It is believed Lomachenko's team will appeal the decision, but it is unlikely we will see anything overturned. As mentioned, even with Morretti's egregious scoring of the 10th round for Haney being overturned, the fight would still have gone to Haney. Having now come up short against Haney and Teofimo Lopez, Lomachenko feels like he's falling into a gatekeeper role for the division. If Haney does vacate his belts, we could see Loma challenging again for the title against someone like a Shakur Stevenson or William Zepeda, but it's hard to see Lomachenko faring well against these young hungry killers.
Elsewhere, in the world of MMA, UFC Fight Night 223 emanated from the UFC Apex Saturday afternoon with a card that seemed designed to help fighters re-establish themselves in their division rather than setting anyone up for any title shots in the near future. On the prelims, Natalia Silva picked up a first round finish, and now on a 9 fight winning streak, has made her presence known in the women's flyweight division. Chase Hooper picked up a win, bringing his record to 3-3 over his last 6, alternating wins and losses. And lastly, Karolina Kowalkiewicz picked up a big win, and is now on a three fight winning streak following an 0-5 skid from Sept 2018 to Aug 2021.
On the main card, Diego Ferreira picked up a much needed win over Michael Johnson after dropping his three previous fights. Johnson, a UFC legend at this point and veteran of nearly 30 fights, has now suffered defeat in six of his last eight bouts, and the end of the road may have come for the 36 year-old. Joaquin Buckley and foe Andre Fialho each entered their bout Saturday on the back of consecutive defeats, and it was Buckley who was able to get back on the winning track with a second round knockout via head kick. With his UFC record now at 6-4, Buckley might not be winning a championship any time soon, but his fights are guaranteed entertainment, and that alone will ensure his spot on the UFC roster is safe. Fialho on the other hand, now 2-4 over his last 6 including 3 straight losses, may have few chances remaining to prove himself.
Emily Ducote and Loopy Godinez squared off, each woman having dropped a decision in 2022 to the card's main eventer Angela Hill. Godinez picked up an impressive win here, building off her win just six weeks ago over Cynthia Calvillo at UFC 287. The win is Godinez's fourth in her last five fights, and puts Loopy in a strong position in the strawweight division, just on the brink of the top 15. Ducote, a veteran of Bellator, Invicta, and the UFC, now sits at 12-8 through her twenty fight career, and may be unable to make it past the hump to the next level of competition.
The co-main found middleweights Anthony Hernandez coming in riding a three fight winning streak while opponent Edmen Shahbazyan was looking to right the ship after dropping three of his last four. Unfortunately for Shahbazyan, he was unable to stop the rolling Hernandez, who was able to neutralize his opponent, shut him down in the second round, and put him away in the third via TKO. "Fluffy" Hernandez is now riding a four fight winning streak since a 2020 loss to Kevin Holland, and while that rematch would be fun, it seems Holland is staying put at 170lbs. There are plenty of fighters for Hernandez to face in the 10-15 range of the UFC's middleweight division, including the "Action Man" Chris Curtis, and a potential rematch against former LFA foe Brendan Allen.
The main event featured a battle between women's strawweights MacKenzie Dern and Angela Hill. Dern arrived in the UFC in 2018 as one of the brightest women's prospects since Ronda Rousey. Unfortunately, Dern suffered a setback in her third bout, dropping a decision to Amanda Lemos. From there, each time it seemed Dern was about to rise to the top of the division, she would fall short, first to Marina Rodriguez and then Yan Xionan. Hill, on the other hand, has had to scratch, claw, and earn everything she's gotten in the UFC. Since her debut in 2017, Hill has fought 19 times in the UFC, splitting wins and losses en route to a 9-10 record inside the Octagon, but proving to be a tough out for virtually everyone. Hill entered this bout on the strength of back to back wins over Ducote and Godinez in 2022. Once the cage doors closed though, it was all Dern. The jiu-jitsu ace had her way with Hill en route to several 10-8 rounds and a widely lopsided decision. Sometimes, no matter how much fight or will you have, you just can't overcome superior technique. Though the loss now puts Hill's UFC record at a subpar 9-11, it is hard to see the UFC parting ways with the veteran, and considering she has registered at least three fights a year since 2019, don't be surprised to see her fighting again soon. As for Dern, the road forward remains somewhat unclear. She has proven with fights like this that her grappling is some of the best in the world. The problem comes when she isn't able to get the fight where she wants it, and is unable to adapt to a different gameplan. Each of the women who have defeated Dern (Rodriguez, Lemos, Xionan) sit above Dern in the rankings, so it is entirely possibly we see Mackenzie try to avenge one of those losses in a rematch. But there is little reason to think those fights will play out differently than the first time around, and until Dern is able to reach that next level, it's hard to see her finding success against any of the women in the top 5 of the strawweight rankings.
So that's it for this week folks. A lot of action from top to bottom, a lot of high stakes on the line, and plenty of questions to ask moving forward. Are legendary fighters like Vasiliy Lomachenko and Katie Taylor past their prime? Are Chantelle Cameron and Devin Haney now the female and male pound for pound best fighters in the world? What's next for each of them, and at what weight will their next bouts take place? Will judges and/or referees ever be forced to give answers or reasoning to their decisions and scorecards? Hopefully we get some answers to these questions in the coming weeks. Until then, thanks for stopping by and picking up the scraps.
Next week be sure to tune in Saturday, May 27 for a bevy of fights from across the pond. First, from Belfast, Northern Ireland, "Irish" Michael Conlan challenges Luis Alberto Lopez for Lopez's IBF Featherweight title live on ESPN+. Later, from Manchester, England, Leigh Wood challenges Mauricio Lara for Lara's WBA Featherweight title live on DAZN. Don't forget it was Wood who KO'd Michael Conlan last March in a Fight of the Year candidate and KO of the Year winner. With victories on Saturday, it is possible we see a Conlan vs Wood rematch later this year. The DAZN undercard also features appearances by Jack Catterall, Campbell Hatton, and middleweights Kieran Conway and Linus Udofia. Lastly, from Bournemouth, England, undefeated British Cruiserweight Champion Lawrence Okolie defends his WBO strap against Chris Billiam-Smith, with an undercard featuring a slew of British fighters including Mikael Lawal, Sam Eggington, and Michael McKinson.
On the MMA side of things, the UFC takes its first week off since April 1, a stretch spanning seven straight Saturdays of events. They will return June 3, with a UFC on ESPN fight card headlined by Kai Kara France vs Amir Albazi from the UFC Apex Center. Elsewhere, the PFL is on break until June 8, when they resume their season with a three week slate of fights. And lastly, Bellator returns June 16 from Chicago with Bellator 297, headlined by Vadim Nemkov defending his LHW title against Yoel Romero. With virtually no MMA to consume next weekend, it looks like it will be a boxing heavy weekend.
