LAS VEGAS – Devin Haney has the confidence of an undefeated, undisputed champion.

The intelligent, skillful lightweight king predicted not only that he’ll beat Vasiliy Lomachenko on Saturday night, but that he’ll do it so convincingly that even his critics will give him the credit he is certain he already deserves. Haney has taken issue with particular pound-for-pound lists – most notably that of The Ring magazine, which has repeatedly left him out of its top 10 since he decisively defeated George Kambosos Jr. to win the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO 135-pound championships last June 5 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.

Haney has acknowledged that Lomachenko is his most imposing opponent to date, at least on paper. The 24-year-old Oakland native just doesn’t believe that the three-division champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist will be able to deal with his jab, size, speed and even what Haney considers underrated power.

“I definitely think I’ll get more credit for this win than all of [my other wins],” Haney told BoxingScene.com. “This is somebody who the world had at number one pound-for-pound for a long time. He was a guy that the world thought was unbeatable at a point. When the world sees how not only I beat him, but how bad I beat him and how decisively I beat him and how easy I beat him, I definitely will get my just due.”

BoxingScene.com has Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) ranked ninth on its pound-for-pound list, which doesn’t include Lomachenko.

The Ring still doesn’t list Haney among its top 10 pound-for-pound, but Lomachenko is ranked seventh. ESPN.com ranked Haney 10th on its newest list, whereas Lomachenko isn’t on it.

“Those two undisputed fights did a lot for me,” Haney said of his back-to-back points victories over Kambosos. “You know, obviously I became undisputed, became king of the division, one of the guys on the pound-for-pound list. And [beating Lomachenko] just pushes me higher on the pound-for-pound list. You know, it validates me, makes me a pay-per-view fighter now. So yeah, I’m excited to keep going that route and one day be the pound-for-pound king, and the king of boxing.”

Ukraine’s Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) has lost only a 12-round unanimous decision to then-undefeated Teofimo Lopez (18-1, 13 KOs) in October 2020 at MGM Grand Conference Center in the past nine years. His only previous professional loss was a split decision to Mexican veteran Orlando Salido in just Lomachenko’s second professional fight, a 12-round, 126-pound championship bout that took place in March 2014 at Alamodome in San Antonio.

Lomachenko turned 35 three months ago and struggled during the first half of his most recent bout – a 12-round, unanimous-decision victory over Jamaine Ortiz (16-1-1, 8 KOs) on October 29 at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York. The former WBA/WBC/WBO lightweight champion is still the most accomplished and skillful opponent Haney has agreed to fight in seven-plus years as a pro.

The taller, younger Haney is listed by most sportsbooks as more than a 2-1 favorite as their ESPN Pay-Per-View main event approaches. Their 12-round fight will headline a three-bout broadcast scheduled to start at 10 p.m. EDT and 7 p.m. PDT ($59.99).

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.