Vasiliy Lomachenko’s successful return to the ring garnered nothing more than a ho-hum response from Shakur Stevenson. After lending a helping hand to his native land of Ukraine in the ongoing Russian invasion, the 34-year-old squared off against current top contender, Jamaine Ortiz.

Pegged as a gargantuan favorite heading in, Ortiz paid no attention to the flippant nature in which oddsmakers viewed his chances. Instead, the 26-year-old fought confidently in front of a fairly sparse crowd in Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater this past Saturday night.

As the Puerto Rican native enjoyed success in the early going, even Lomachenko’s most adamant supporters grew weary. With his comeback fight morphing into his worst nightmare, Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) turned things around in the second half.

A visibly tiring Ortiz trudged along in the latter rounds. Forced to fight on the back foot, Lomachenko continued to pick up steam. Though close, at least in the public eye, the former two-time Olympic gold medalist snagged the 17th professional victory of his career.

While the New York crowd cheered and roared, Stevenson shook his head in disapproval. Although he’s admitted in years past that Lomachenko is an elite-level fighter and one-of-a-kind talent, at the age of 34, Stevenson believes that he’s lost a step or two, maybe even three.

“He’s not the same fighter he used to be,” said Stevenson on his social media account. “Too slow and old looking.”

Despite Stevenson’s scathing criticism, Lomachenko’s recent victory has pushed him to the front of the championship line. According to Bob Arum, the Ukrainian’s longtime promoter, his next appearance will take place against current undisputed lightweight kingpin, Devin Haney.

With their collision course seemingly on pace for the first half of 2023, Stevenson, having watched Lomachenko’s apathetic performance, has concluded that against Haney, he’ll endure the beating of a lifetime.

“Dev smokes him.”