BetOnline patrons could possibly argue that Devin Haney has never been as seriously challenged as he's about to be on Saturday night. That is when he is going to step in the ring against Vasyl Lomachenko with all of the lightweight belts at stake - WBC, WBO, WBA, IBF. All of those belts are currently owned by Haney, while Loma is on a mission to vindicate himself from the loss he suffered at the hands of Teofimo Lopez, who in turn lost to George Kambosos, who in turn lost to Haney - not once, but twice.

This is an ESPN+ presentation that is available on pay-per-view, and it takes place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The card begins at 8 PM ET, and the fighters will be in the ring at about Midnight Eastern time.

Haney, a native of San Francisco, currently lives and trains in Las Vegas, and his record is unblemished at 29-0 with 15 KOs. To be honest, he had a thin roster of opponents all the way up until he started fighting ten-rounders. Beating Juan Carlos Burgos, Xolisani Ndongeni and Yuriorkis Gamboa was okay, but defeating smooth-boxing Jorge Linares for the WBC lightweight title was what put him on the radar of most people.

After beating Jo Jo Diaz, he engaged in a pair of fights with George Kambosos, when won the rest of the belts and then defended them. The rematch was not necessary from the public's point of view, but Kambosos invoked a rematch clause in the contract.

Lomachenko's amateur record has been advertised as 396-1, and that might be a source of contention, but there's no doubt that he dominated the game on an amateur level like very few others. This career was highlighted by two Olympic gold medals. And obviously Top Rank felt that he was ready to jump in with world-class pros right away, because they inserted him into a fight for the WBO featherweight in only his second professional outing. And guess what - he was beaten by Orlando Salido. But Salido had to give up the title for being overweight, and Loma came back in his next fight to beat Gary Russell Jr. for the vacant crown.

Things moved quickly after that. Lomachenko won a championship in his third weight division in only his twelfth professional fight. He's had outstanding efforts against the likes of Nicolas Walters, Gillermo Rigonsdeaux and the aforementioned Linares, with whom he was dead even on the scorecards when he scored a tenth-round stoppage.

In October 2020 he faced undefeated Teofimo Lopez, and although some felt Lopez was in over his head, Loma never got uncorked and lost the 12-round decision by scores of 116-112, 119-109 and 117-111. He's come back with a few fights since then, but did not look sensational against Jamaine Ortiz in October. And he's now 35.

In the boxing betting odds that have been posted on this fight by the people at BetOnline, Haney is the favorite:

Davin Haney -265
Vasyl Lomachenko +225

Over 10.5 Rounds -550
Under 10.5 Rounds +375

And here are the odds on what the exact method of victory is going to be:

Haney by Decision or Technical Decision -155
Lomachenko by Decision or Technical Decision +340
Lomachenko by KO, TKO or DQ +600
Haney by KO, TKO or DQ +725
Draw or Technical Draw +1600

From what we have seen in his past performances, we have every expectation that Haney will seek to box and move. He's not a puncher, but instead is very talented from the pure boxing standpoint.

As long as he is on the move - and mind you, we're not talking about what some people refer to as running - he is going to be presenting a problem for Loma, who is at his best not when he is standing there in front of his opponent trading shots but swarming him. His best efforts have come when he's able to overwhelm his foe with punches. And they don't have to be power shots either. He just bombards people, and the sheer volume is extremely difficult to deal with.

But that always works best when the opponent is relatively stationary. Will Haney be standing still long enough for Loma to unleash flurry after flurry? No he won't, unless he's completely abandoned his game plan.

But what was particularly impressive about Haney in those two fights against Kambosos is that he remained very disciplined. He never really gave Kambosos a chance to get off. And while we wouldn't go so far as to say that Kambosos is a better fighter than Loma, we'd maintain that he beat the guy who beat Loma, and he was fighting in front of his countrymen in Australia.

What I'm saying, basically, is that Haney's style - if he employs it assiduously - is all wrong for what Loma wants to do. He is going to be quicker to the punch. And he is liable to get caught coming in by some shots that might not knock him cold, but will score enough points for Haney to win by decision, which would carry a price of -155 at BetOnline, where you can bet boxing - and all combat sports - to your heart's content, and where you can deposit with a credit card or any number of fabulous crypto options!