Vasiliy Lomachenko at 34: Has he slowed down? Rivals will find out
Is Vasiliy Lomachenko what he used to be?
The Ukrainian boxing wizard was No. 1 pound-for-pound on some lists – including Boxing Junkie’s – only two years ago. Then he lost a stunning unanimous decision to upstart Teofimo Lopez, which sparked talk of his decline.
The left-handed Lomachenko fought Lopez with an injured right shoulder, on which he has surgery days after the fight. Still, questions about the now-34-year-old persist.
The shoulder reportedly is fine going into his fight against Jamaine Ortiz on Saturday at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York (ESPN+). “The shoulder’s repaired and he feels good physically,” Top Rank Vice President Moretti told Yahoo! Sports.
The age is something an operation can’t fix. Even Lomachenko acknowledged that.
“Of course I have to adjust,” Lomachenko told Yahoo!. “Years only add up. They never go in the other direction. I need more time to recover now than I used to. I remember it was a half-a-day I needed to recover and now I need the entire day.
“The approach changed somewhat as a result. We decreased the workload and we added more time for recovery.”
That doesn’t mean he isn’t near his best, however. His younger rivals, he implied, will learn that the hard way.
“This fight against a young and ambitious fighter will show whether it’s the case,” he said.
Moretti, whose promotional company has handled Lomachenko’s entire career, is realistic about the impact of time on a great fighter but believes the two-time Olympic champion retains much of his ability.
Lomachenko has looked a lot like the fighter of old in his past two fights, one-sided victories over Masayoshi Nakatani (TKO 9) in June of last year and Richard Commey (UD) in December.
He hasn’t fought since the latter fight because of the ongoing war in his native Ukraine.
“Maybe athletically, he’s not what he once was, but physically he is good and you need to have that,” Moretti said. “Physically, he’s fine. Now, does the wear and tear of a long camp affect him? Will he get hit with things he’s never been hit with before? If it turns into a war, I think we’ll know he’s not quite the fighter he was.
“But I don’t think his father would let him fight if he felt he was not healthy or able to perform at a high level.”
We’ll know more on Saturday. And then, assuming he defeats Ortiz, we’ll get a clear picture if he gets his wish: to challenge undisputed 135-pound champion Devin Haney, which would provide the ultimate opportunity to prove doubters wrong and reclaim past glory.
Indeed, even if he has slowed down, he continues to think big.
