By the time Devin Haney appeared at the post-fight press conference at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the 24-year-old undisputed lightweight champion was already aware of the widespread belief that the judges had made a mistake in awarding him the unanimous decision victory. Vasily Lomachenko on Saturday evening.

Haney, who holds lightweight belts from all four major sanctioning bodies, landed heavier punches during the 12 rounds of the championship fight, but punching statistics say Lomachenko, a 35-year-old Ukrainian, landed and landed more punches.

While many fans discussing the fight on social media complained about Haney’s win, undefeated contender Shakur Stevenson, who was hoping to fight Saturday Night’s winner, called the result a “rip off”.

Stevenson may have exaggerated the case – two judges scored the fight 115-113 in favor of Haney and a third gave Haney a 116-112 win, all relatively close. But the result and the backlash underscore the paradox inherent in high-level boxing.

Fans are demanding spectacular fights between elite fighters, and recently the lightweight division got it. An April matchup between Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia sold out T-Mobile Arena and brought in 1.2 million pay-per-view purchases. In Saturday’s bout between Haney, the undisputed lightweight champion, and Lomachenko, the former three-division world champion, the stakes were even higher, with four championship belts at stake.

But intense fights often lead to controversial decisions. In a fight in which neither fighter had a clear advantage, one judge, Dave Moretti, won eight rounds in favor of Haney.

Amid all the controversy on the Internet, Haney told reporters that for him, victory seemed certain.

“People can say what they want,” said Haney, who is now 30-0 with 15 knockouts. “The judges reached a unanimous decision.”

Ahead of Saturday’s fight, Haney predicted he would force Lomachenko to retire. He had advantages in height and reach, and said his improved punching power would help him make Lomachenko look mediocre.

Lomachenko landed 124 of 564 punches, compared to Haney’s 110 of 405, according to CompuBox. In amateur boxing, where judges prioritize performance over punching power, and where Lomachenko has won two Olympic titles, he would likely win the decision if he simply outmaneuvered his opponent.

Much of Saturday’s fight took place at close range, which favored the shorter-handed Lomachenko, who repeatedly scored with a left hand to Haney’s forehead.

“It’s a big, big question for me,” Lomachenko, now 17-3 with 11 knockouts, told reporters at a press conference. “What’s happened?”

Professional fights are counted round by round, so aggregate hit statistics can be misleading. Lomachenko outmaneuvered Haney in five rounds, and Haney outmaneuvered Lomachenko in five others. In the remaining two frames, the fighters delivered the same number of blows.

Many of Haney’s connects were heavy body shots that blunted Lomachenko’s advances. From time to time, he landed sharp left hooks to limit Lomachenko’s lateral movement. Haney admitted he fought at Lomachenko’s preferred distance, but said he did it on purpose.

“I knew I had to show it to him and fight the kind of fight you guys have never seen before,” Haney said. “Not every fight will be beautiful.”

However, for people who want to guess the judges of the fight, round 10 stands out.

According to statistics, Lomachenko had an advantage – 11 delivered strikes against Haney’s five. He also appeared to be the aggressor and seemed to stun Haney with one of his punches. But Moretti awarded Haney 10th place.

His scorecard was one of several reasons Lomachenko’s manager Egis Klimas said he planned to file a formal protest on Monday.

“I guarantee that we will drop this decision,” Klimas told reporters.

The other two scorecards Haney favored for one round were more reflective of the tight margins and fast pace of the fight.

Between the 7th and 8th rounds, the seconds urged Lomachenko to throw more jabs. He started aggressively in the eighth round and was hit hard to the body by Haney. When Lomachenko finally landed his jab, the crowd chanted “Loma”. Before the call, Haney gave in a little.

In the final round, Haney resumed the attack with two fists. When Lomachenko landed a straight left, Haney countered with two hooks. Shortly before the final bell, Haney landed a long left jab.

Lomachenko left the fight impressed by Haney’s prowess.

Exactly.

“If you’re talking about Linares, if you’re talking about Lopez, they are better for me than Haney,” Lomachenko said, referring to Jorge Linares and Teofimo Lopez, two of his past rivals.

Lomachenko’s future in the ring remains hazy. He proved that he is still an elite fighter in the talented lightweight division, but he admitted that this fight was probably his last chance to become the undisputed champion.

For his part, Haney hoped that Saturday’s bout would dispel doubts about his championship qualities, but the result seems to have only emboldened would-be opponents.

“Devin is not at my level and I’m going to show it,” said Stevenson, a former 130-pound champion.

Haney, who had competed in the 135-pound division since his teenage years, discussed going on probation to the 140-pound super lightweight division. However, he has no plans to vacate his lightweight titles. Instead, he teased mega fights against Stevenson and Davis, who goes by the name of Tank.

“Me and the Tank is a massive battle,” he said. “It will happen sooner rather than later.”