GRADES: DEVIN HANEY, VASYL LOMACHENKO, CHANTELLE CAMERON, KATIE TAYLOR & MORE

By: Jay Calderon

Well, to say we had an eventful past weekend would be an understatement.

First up, in Ireland, we had Katie Taylor getting her homecoming spoiled by the ever impressive Chantelle Cameron, who successfully defended her unified Jr. Welterweight championship.

Then, Stateside, we had world Lightweight champion Devin Haney earn a controversial decision over former world champion Vasyl Lomachenko. The under card also saw the return of Oscar Valdez and the title-winning knockout performance of unbeaten Junto Nakatani.

So,without much more rambling, let's hand out these Grades:

DEVIN HANEY: B-
RESULT: DEF. VASYL LOMACHENKO, 12UD (LIGHTWEIGHT)

Whether you feel a though Devin Haney legitimately defeated Vasyl Lomachenko or not, his stock definitely took a hit after Saturday night.

Again, these grades aren't just based on results. They also factor in expectations and the overall performance. And the expectations are often times set by the fighters themselves.

When you go into a fight claiming you're the bigger, better man, that you've been waiting four years for this fight. When you claim your opponent is "too old, too small", the expectations is you're going to come in and dominate.

That didn't happen. At all. Haney certainly got the nod, and you can even agree with that decision. But it certainly wasn't the greatest look for Haney by the end of the night.

VASYL LOMACHENKO: B
RESULT: LOSS TO DEVIN HANEY, 12UD (LIGHTWEIGHT)

Considering the circumstances, Vasyl Lomachenko put forth one of the best performances of his career. Unfortunately, to the officials in charge of judging his effort, it wasn't enough.

That said, think about what he managed on the night. In a bout where he entered a decent sized underdog, at the age of 35, Lomachenko may have done enough (in many people's eyes) to knock off the undisputed, undefeated Lightweight champion of the world.

Sure, that's not going to do much for Loma in terms of easing the pain of losing a fight he felt he actually won. Still, it should be noted: Vasyl fought his ass off and did way better than many might have expected.

JUNTO NAKATANI: A+
RESULT: DEF. ANDREW MOLONEY, 12KO (JR. BANTAMWEIGHT)

The only negative I could think of for Junto Nakatani's performance over Andrew Moloney? Well...it will probably make him even more avoided than has already been the case.

Nakatani has been something of a best kept secret in boxing, with many believing the Japanese southpaw could be on the verge of stardom. The problem? Few wanted to fight him.

Finally, with a vacant portion of the 115 pound title on the line, Nakatani got his moment to shine. And he did just that on his way to a highlight reel stoppage win in the twelfth and final round.

Will anyone want to face Nakatani at Jr. Bantamweight? Maybe not. But if he keeps producing at this level, Nakatani could become unavoidable.

ANDREW MOLONEY: C-
RESULT: LOSS TO JUNTO NAKATANI, 12KO (JR. BANTAMWEIGHT)

You have to feel for Andrew Moloney. After two (or three) failed attempts at capturing world gold, Moloney had what might ultimately become his last crack at picking up a strap.

The problem was he had to go through Junto Nakatani to get to it.

While many have shied away from Nakatani, with a vacant title on the line, the always brave Moloney stepped up to the challenge. And to his credit, he tried to take advantage of this opportunity until the very last punch.

The problem is that last punch may have produced the Knockout of the Year in favor of the other guy.

You don't want to say it's over for a guy at the top when he's just 32 years of age. However, you have to expect a fighter will only be given so many chances.

OSCAR VALDEZ: B
RESULT: DEF. ADAM LOPEZ, 10UD (JR. LIGHTWEIGHT)

It wasn't a dynamic performance, and it certainly wasn't as dramatic as his initial encounter with Adam Lopez back in 2019. Still, Oscar Valdez got the job done.

Over the course of ten mostly one-sided frames, Valdez stepped in and left-handed himself to victory. It was a simple approach, but one that Lopez simply didn't know how to stop.

While all three judges gave a couple of rounds or so to Lopez, it didn't feel like that kind of fight. It felt like a fight where Valdez was getting back into shape after a long layoff, working through the gears and cruising.

There will be much harder fights for Valdez, but this performance was about what he needed after coming back from his first career defeat.

CHANTELLE CAMERON: A+
RESULT: DEF. KATIE TAYLOR, 10MD (JR. WELTERWEIGHT)

Yeah, Chantelle Cameron beat Katie Taylor in Ireland. Do I really need to say more than that to justify the grade?

No. But, I will anyway.

Not only did she beat the trailblazer Taylor in her own backyard, she did it with both skill and will.

Many expected that Chantelle might pull off the win with her size as Taylor was in fact moving up in weight to take the fight. However, Cameron was also the more skillful on the night, the one most able to adapt and push through the gears when needed.

At this point, Cameron has defended her gold against the best in her own division, the best from Welterweight in Jessica McCaskill and now the best at Lightweight in Taylor.

You could legitimately consider Cameron the best fighter anywhere between 135-137 pounds.

KATIE TAYLOR: B-
RESULT: LOSS TO CHANTELLE CAMERON, 10MD (JR. WELTERWEIGHT)

On the one hand, I was tempted to give Katie Taylor a harsher grade. She lost in her homecoming, in a fight she was favored to win. That's always going to be a bad look to some extent.

That said, to come up short against a top five pound-for-pound fighter isn't a sign that you're a failure at all. You also have to consider Taylor was moving up and still did her best to stand her ground and make a fight of it.

Of course, according to two of the three judges, she didn't do quite enough. And perhaps this performance is the first real sign of slippage. But going any lower than the mark I gave seems a bit to steep of a grading curve.

LINKS:

- SCHEDULE & ODDS

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