The wheels started in motion on Sunday when Haney took to social media wondering where Lomachenko's been since he lost his belts to Teofimo Lopez in October. Lomachenko, who rarely responds to anything on Twitter, fired back.

It didn't take long for the 22-year-old to issue a retort. He told Lomachenko "waiting" is what cost him to lose for the second time in his career. Lomachenko took a swipe at Haney for what he perceives as a lack of quality opposition.

Haney would get the last word — at least for now — reminding Lomachenko that he was the mandatory challenger for the WBC belt. Then Lomachenko requested to be the "Franchise" champion, which was granted — meaning Lomachenko no longer had to fulfill the title defense.