Vasiliy Lomachenko ready to remind everyone he's the best lightweight in the world
It’s difficult to believe in just 17 professional bouts, Vasiliy Lomachenko has twice as many losses as he did in 397 amateur bouts, when he established himself as one of the best amateurs of all time and won two Olympic gold medals.
One thing remains true as Lomachenko heads into his bout on Saturday at Madison Square Garden against Richard Commey as it did 15 months ago: He remains the best lightweight in the world.
Lomachenko lost that distinction on Oct. 17, 2020, in Las Vegas when he was beaten over 12 rounds by Teofimo Lopez, who completed “The Takeover” by winning a one-sided unanimous decision.
But 14 months and a TKO win over Masayoshi Nakatani later, Lomachenko is back in his familiar perch as the world’s best lightweight.
That’s saying something, even though Lopez was unexpectedly beaten last month by George Kambosos and is planning, at least for the time being, a jump to super lightweight.
The lightweight division remains the home of Kambosos, the undisputed champion, as well as regular WBC champion Devin Haney, secondary WBA champion Gervonta Davis and top contender Ryan Garcia, among a host of others.
Lomachenko's nonagenarian promoter, Bob Arum, said one bad decision cost him.
Lomachenko had injured a shoulder before he fought Lopez in 2020 but resisted attempts to postpone the fight. He fought with it, threw very few punches in the first half, and then underwent surgery the next day.
“His strategy was to conserve his energy in the first half of the fight to, I guess, get Teofimo tired and then come on in the second half and maybe try to knock him out,” Arum said of Lomachenko. “Obviously, that wasn’t the right decision. He really should have postponed the fight. It’s no bulls**t because he had the surgery the next day. You can’t try to fight anyone compromised like that, but especially a strong kid like Teofimo.”
Lomachenko returned to the ring after his rehabilitation in June and looked like his old self in dominating Nakatani and stopping him in the ninth round. He won every scored round on two of the three judges’ cards before finishing the fight, an impressive performance considering the difficulty Lopez had with Nakatani.
Lomachenko, who said he’s invested more in his Russian Orthodox faith since losing to Lopez, opted to choose Commey, the one-time IBF champion who was drilled in two rounds in 2019 by Lopez.
Commey, though, was convincing when he argued that he put that in the past.
“Losing is part of boxing, so regardless of how you lose, it’s all about coming back,” Commey said. “So whatever happened with the Teofimo Lopez fight, it is what it is and I took it as a man. I knew I needed to come back and I came back very strong, and that is the reason why Loma chose me, and Saturday we are going to see what happens.”
Commey promoter Lou DiBella raved about Lomachenko’s footwork, but speaking directly to Lomachenko, he sounded a warning. Lomachenko shouldn’t look at Commey’s loss to Lopez as typical.
Commey is a good puncher, but never got to show it against Lopez, who hurt him early and put him away viciously. DiBella, who also promotes Kambosos, believes Commey will surprise the doubters.
“When you have a fighter like Loma, who has the best footwork of anyone I’ve seen, basically, in my lifetime — literally, that’s how good I think your footwork is in the game, it’s something people will remember for generations,” DiBella, a 2020 Hall of Fame inductee, said. “[But] Richie’s a good fighter. He’s a great fighter. He’s a champion. When a guy like this gets in the ring with his punching power, his dedication and his ability, he’s always dangerous. Loma, I know you know, this is going to be a real fight, man.”
The fight is interesting for more than just the fact that the two promoters are both in the Hall of Fame and graduates of Harvard Law. Lomachenko is one of the best fighters of this generation and remains at the top of his division.
But Lomachenko isn’t the type to spout off. He praised Commey’s power and refused to consider questions about his future. He did say his goal is to become the undisputed champion, so it’s an indirect way of saying he wants Kambosos.
He just plans to fight in his unique style and put on a show, and isn’t worried so much about labels.
“I’m not going to say if I am the No. 1 lightweight,” Lomachenko said. “That is a question for the fans. I always want to show my skills in the ring, and I hope the fans enjoy what I do. We can discuss my future after Saturday night. Of course, Kambosos is a fight I would like. He is the new champion, and he had a great performance against Lopez. But Commey deserves my full attention, and that is the task I am focused on now.
“My goals keep me motivated, one of which is to become undisputed champion. Commey is one of the division’s most dangerous fighters, and he is the one standing in my way.”
