Vasyl Lomachenko speaks out after Devin Haney defeat as he gives heartfelt message to boxing fans

Vasyl Lomachenko has thanked boxing fans for their support following his debatable defeat to Devin Haney.

The Ukrainian star lost a close unanimous decision to the young American undisputed lightweight world champion on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Some fans have claimed that they believe result is a 'robbery', while others insist it could've gone either way.

The fight was a high quality affair with several close rounds.

There were a numbers of momentum shifts as both Haney and Loma adjusted at different stages and utilised their elite boxing IQs to consistently make the contest competitive.

Haney controlled a fair few of the middle rounds, but in the later stages, particularly 10 and 11, Lomachenko appeared very much on top as he had the American hurt.

When the final bell rang it was unclear who had emerged victorious - though the judges scored it 116-112, 115-113, 115-113 for Haney.

At the post-fight press conference Loma's team insisted that they will be appealing the decision, though the boxer himself admitted to deliberately taking the final round off - a move which ultimately lost him the fight.

On Tuesday, Lomachenko took to Instagram to speak out and said: "Hi everyone, I've received a lot of messages from fans around the world.

"It's very, very nice and I'm very happy to read your very, very warm words.

"I just wanted to say a big thank you for your support, [everybody] who came to Saturday night and saw what happened that night.

"But it is what it is. It's life, life is not cancelled. God bless all the people around the world.