This is Rummy’s Corner.
Coming up on October 17, in a bout that will be televised in the United States on
ESPN, from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada - unified WBO/WBA lightweight world champion Vasyl
Lomachenko will square off against undefeated IBF lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez.
This will be the first fight for each champion this year. Lopez had four fights last year,
whereas Lomachenko had just two. For Lopez, he first fought in February of last
year when he scored a 7th round knockout against Diego Magdaleno. Then in April Lopez defeated Edis
Tatli by a 5th round knockout. Then in July Lopez was awarded a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision
against then undefeated Masayoshi Nakatani. And then last December Lopez got his first opportunity
to compete for a major world title when he scored an impressive 2nd round stoppage against
defending IBF champion Richard Commey. For Lomachenko, he successfully defended his
unified WBA/WBO championship belts when he scored a 4th round knockout against Anthony Crolla in
April of last year. And most recently, Lomachenko added the WBC belt to his existing collection when
he was awarded a 12 round unanimous decision against Luke Campbell in August 2019.
So by the time the fight happens, it will have been more than 10 months since Lopez last fought,
and for Lomachenko it will have been two weeks shy of 14 months. That will be the largest gap
for both boxers during their professional careers, which started in 2016 and 2013
respectively for Lopez and Lomachenko. With Lopez having just turned 23 years old back in July,
and Lomachenko just a few months away from 33 years old come fight night, one would think that
the long layoffs resulting from COVID-19 would favor the much younger boxer.
Additionally Lopez has basically always been a lightweight during his short career to date.
Whereas this is the third weight class for Lomachenko, who first won world titles at
126 and 130 before making the jump to 135 back in May 2018 - when he got up off the canvas to score
a dramatic 10th round stoppage victory in a highly engaging encounter against Jorge Linares.
So the big advantages for Lopez are that he has youth on his side,
he is more of a natural lightweight, and he presumably has better punching power - although
it’s difficult to say how much of an impact these perceived advantages will provide him in a real
world scenario. Lomachenko may be older, he may be naturally smaller, he may not be as powerful,
and he has had a longer stretch of inactivity. But the big advantages for Lomachenko come
in the form of big fight experience and elite level skills. There is a good reason Lomachneko
is widely viewed as one of the very best pound-for-pound boxers currently competing today,
where indeed, many observers view Lomachenko as the Pound-for-Pound King of Boxing.
Lomachenko has quite the decorated background: a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist with an
incredible amateur pedigree, the quickest boxer in history to win a major world title
in just his third professional bout, and he is already a three-division world champion.
Lomachenko has just 15 professional fights, but all of those but one have been title fights, and
he has just one loss on his ledger which happened in just his second fight against seasoned veteran
Orlando Salido. But since that loss, Lomachenko has quickly developed into a seasoned championship
prizefighter in his own right, despite having so few professional bouts. Interestingly enough,
Lomachenko has exactly the same number of professional contests as Lopez, with 15.
The winner of this contest will technically NOT become the first undisputed lightweight
world champion since Pernell Whitaker (although it is mistakenly being reported as such by some
outlets). Sweet Pea became the undisputed champion when he defeated Juan Nazario by 1st
round knockout in August 1990. With that victory Whitaker added the WBA belt to his existing
collection that included the WBC and the IBF. Those were the three major
belts of Whitaker’s day. He defended the undisputed championship 3 times,
the last of which happened on October 5, 1991 when he won a unanimous decision against Jorge Paez.
So that was the last night we saw an undisputed lightweight world champion, nearly 30 years ago.
Whitaker jumped up to 140 after the Paez bout. Today, of course, we have four major championship
belts, but things are even more confusing than that. Lomachenko currently reigns as the WBO
champion, the WBC so-called franchise champion, and the WBA super-duper champion. This isn’t
meant as a criticism of Lomachenko, or of any professional boxers who hold or have competed
for these title variations. The boxers are just playing by the rules of today, but these
sanctioning bodies are getting beyond the point of being ridiculous. But basically, Lomachenko
won the vacant WBC belt against Campbell. But he technically isn’t the WBC champion now. Devin
Haney was elevated from interim-WBC champ to the real McCoy, whereas Lomachenko was named
the so-called franchise champion. Haney actually defended the WBC belt last November when he beat
Alfredo Santiago by unanimous decision. The only reason I’m mentioning all of this is
to illustrate the absurdity of the sanctioning bodies, in particular the WBA and WBC in this
instance. The WBA has been pushing this nonsensical garbage for years,
where they’ve devalued their own ‘regular’ WBA belt to a minor status novelty. The super
WBA belt is their real world championship, it too devalued by their own conniving ways. And now the
WBC is also making stuff up as they go along with this fabricated franchise folly, that as far as I
can see, is really nothing more than an honorary status that has no real meaning beyond being a new
scheme to help the WBC line its own pockets. The WBO and IBF have each had their fair share of
shady past behavior, but with the ridiculous long time rules from the WBA and the new shenanigans
from the WBC, they make the other two look like shining beacons of integrity. It’s a wonder the
WBA and WBC are even still considered major world titles. Again, this isn’t meant as a criticism
towards Lomachenko, Haney, or any boxers. This is a criticism directed squarely at the piss poor
self-serving procedural nonsense from the alphabet bodies, namely the WBC in this case, who have made
the championship landscape even more confusing and disturbing than it had already long been.
So while this fight should be for the undisputed lightweight crown, it technically is not. But
don’t let any of this detract from the quality of this match-up. For me this is clearly the
best match-up that came together since COVID changed the entire boxing business landscape.
This is a high quality match-up, and what makes this one so intriguing,
is that on one side you have a hard punching young boxer with a lot of potential and good
skills. And on the other side you have an almost complete boxer who is capable of
seamlessly transitioning from defense to offense and back again. It truly is a classic clash of
styles with a rich historical tradition. For Lopez, I’m sure the temptation will be there
to try and land something big early on. He will want to see how Lomachenko reacts to his power,
and if the openings are there I expect him to unload. But I think Lopez needs to assume
he is probably not going to find those type of openings in the early going against a skilled
technician like Lomachenko. I think Lopez needs to be prepared for the long haul in this one,
and that he will need to exhibit some patience without overextending himself
or becoming frustrated in the process. Lopez does have a decent skillset, and he may be
able to lull Lomachenko into a false sense of security where he can find ways to land big.
I think patience is a key for Lomachenko here, too, and another big thing for him is not to
underestimate this kid. Lomachenko is the more complete boxer, and he is typically methodical
with his approach, especially since he moved up to lightweight. In that sense,
Lomachenko needs to approach this like business as usual, where his superb boxing skills and
incredible ring smarts typically blend together very effectively. Lomachenko can at times be
very sneaky, especially when countering with a defensively responsible approach. Like Lopez,
Lomachenko is also gifted in the art of setting traps. This, too, will serve him well. I’m not
suggesting that Lomachenko needs to be overly cautious here, but I do believe he would best
serve himself by being measured and deliberate with his strategy, especially in the earlier
rounds where Lomachenko’s stellar footwork could make a big difference in the ebb and flow.
So who will win between Vasyl Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez?
Personally, I honestly believe that Lopez has the skills and attributes that he can legit score
the upset here. In addition to that, I think the timing of this bout might actually play in Lopez’s
favor. So I’m going on record saying I would not be at all shocked if Lopez scores the upset
here. But that being said, Lomachenko has proven to be something very special and it’s extremely
difficult to pick against him at this time. I tend to believe that the skills, the smarts, and the
experience of Lomachenko will be enough to subdue the young hungry champion in Lopez. I actually
think this one can potentially be a lot of fun and pretty competitive, but I like Lomachenko
here in this one, and I think his superior footwork will help lead him to victory.
So for my official prediction, I like Lomachenko in a decisive
yet competitive unanimous decision. But whatever happens I cannot emphasize enough
how fired-up I am that a fight of this magnitude has come together at this time. This has been a
very difficult year for boxing, and indeed, for everything else beyond boxing. The fact
that the Fury-Wilder rematch actually happened this year is tough to keep in perspective,
because it feels like it happened ages ago. This fight lacks the mainstream high profile spotlight
that shined on that mega bout boxing event, but right now, this is exactly the type of fight that
boxing needs. And hopefully it will be a solid encounter that helps boxing get back on track,
where maybe the bigger fights will happen in great abundance starting in 2021.
Just a few short weeks away, Saturday night October 17,
2020 - on a bout that will be televised in the US on ESPN from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas,
Nevada! Vasyl Lomachenko vs Teofimo Lopez. A match for lightweight boxing supremacy!
I cannot wait for this one, and whatever happens, may the best man win on that night.
Who do you think will win the fight between Lomachenko and Lopez? Please
share your thoughts in the comment section. Thanks for watching everyone, I hope you enjoyed,
and have a wonderful night. This is Rummy’s Corner.