RISING American star Devin Haney forced a stoppage inside four rounds when he defeated Zaur Abdullaev to win a lightweight WBC Interim title at the Madison Square Theater in New York Friday (September 13).
“I felt good on my performance. I wasn’t nearly done beating him, I was just warming up. I’m happy with the win,” Haney said afterwards. “I don’t usually study because I learn fast. I can make quick adjustments anytime and that’s what I did tonight.”
Haney hopes the WBC’s Interim belt will put him in line to challenge Vasyl Lomachenko, the brilliant Ukrainian who unified the WBC world title with the WBA and WBO championships he already held when he beat Luke Campbell in London last month.
“Lomachenko, let’s get this fight going. Abdullaev was number two and I destroyed him. If I’m so easy, No-machenko should fight me and get me out of the way,” Haney declared.
Instead Haney is expected to box next on November 9 in Los Angeles on the undercard of two Youtubers, KSI and Logan Paul. “I’ve been talking to Eddie Hearn about November 9. I think it’s good for the sport of boxing, brings new fans, and gets me back in the ring,” he said.
On the undercard US heavyweight Michael Hunter took a good win over Russia’s Sergey Kuzmin, winning a unanimous decision after 12 rounds.
Amanda Serrano took a 10 round points decision over Heather Hardy to win the WBO featherweight crown.
Kazakh Olympic gold medallist Daniyar Yeleussinov went 8-0 as a pro when he took out Reshard Hicks inside a round.
Azeri heavyweight Mahammadrasul Majidov made his pro debut, stopping Ed Fountain in four rounds.
