‘I gained so much’ – Devin Haney believes Vasyl Lomachenko experience will help him outclass Ryan Garcia

Devin Haney has told talkSPORT.com that he is a much better fighter since his victory over Vasyl Lomachenko.

Last year, the young American talent was truly tested for the first time in his career when he faced another elite technical boxer.

After comfortably beating George Kambosos twice in 2022 to become the undisputed lightweight champion of the world, Haney welcomed a clash with Lomachenko.

Despite being overlooked when calling out the Ukrainian a few years prior, the youngster had no problem giving him a chance in order to cement his own status as lightweight king.

The fight took place in May 2023 and was an exciting back-and-forth between two technically superb fighters.

It was controversial in the eyes of some, but Haney ultimately earned a narrow unanimous decision victory and defended his crown.

Following this victory, the American then moved up to welterweight to challenge respected veteran champion Regis Prograis for his WBC crown.

While many expected another close affair, Haney ended up dominating his opponent and believes that was partly due to the experience he gained from beating Lomachenko.

He now hopes to take that into his fight against Ryan Garcia, live on talkSPORT on Saturday night, and use it to outclass his foe.

“I’ve gained so much experience,” Haney told talkSPORT.com of Loma’s victory.

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“I took Loma’s experience and added it to my experience.

“And even in the next fight (against Prograis), you saw how much better I was in the next fight.

“But that’s what happens when you fight great fighters. You learn, you gain experience and you get better.

“So I’m happy that I was able to learn in this fight, get the victory and move forward.”

Haney is adamant that he will continue to fight the best and has also welcomed a future fight against IBF welterweight world champion Subriel Matias, who some call the “bogeyman” of the division.

When asked if people doubted he would fight Matias, Haney said: “I mean, they’ll say something either way.

“But if you know me, if you’re a boxing fan and you watch me, then you know I’m a different breed of fighter.

“These guys say they’ll fight the best fighters, but they’re not really like that, they don’t really think about that.

“If anyone is, I am and I’ve shown that I’ve proven it.

“You can think what you want, but it’s reality.”

Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia will be live on talkSPORT from 4am on Sunday April 21

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