A pair of two-time Olympic gold medalists, match wits in a game of high-speed chess, with the winner in the driver seat for fighter of the year. A quality matchup on ESPN this Saturday night will be accompanied by an excellent lead-in program. Top Rank founder, Bob Arum made an intriguing matchup, now it’s up to these two elite-level practitioners to shine.
Guillermo Rigondeaux
Lomachenko vs Rigondeaux – Video Preview & Prediction
One of the absolute greatest match-ups that can be made in all of professional boxing is just around the corner. On December 9, undefeated WBA super bantamweight world champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs) will move up two full weight classes to challenge WBO super featherweight world champion Vasyl Lomachenko (9-1, 7 KOs) at the Madison Square Garden theater.
Weights: Lomachenko 129, Rigondeaux 128.4
Vasyl Lomachenko (9-1, 7 KOs) and Guillermo Rigondeaux both made weight at their weigh-in on Friday for their huge bout this weekend at MSG in New York. Lomachenko weighed 129 pounds. Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs) came in at 128.4 lbs. The limit for the super featherweight division is 130 lbs.
Lomachenko, 29, looked a lot bigger than Guillermo at the weigh-in. The weight was almost the same, but Lomachenko looked like he belongs in a higher weight class.
Vasyl Lomachenko doesn’t just beat guys, he makes them quit, retire sat down – could Rigondeaux be next?
Not one, not two, but the last three fighters to have shared a ring with Vasyl Lomachenko have flat-out quit, retired on their stool. Good fighters all three – Nicholas Walters, Jason Sosa and Miguel Marriaga – the trio were forced to capitulate due to the pain, frustration and just simple embarrassment that came about inside the four squares on the night they met the boxer with the most deceptive pro record ever.
The Lomachenko vs. Rigondeaux Showdown
In one of the best years in boxing in recent memory will get even better with another marquee matchup between two-division WBO super featherweight world titleholder Vasyl “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko (9-1, 7 KOs) and undefeated WBA / WBO / IBO junior featherweight world champion Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux (17-0 1 NC, 11 KOs) in a much anticipated, long-awaited showdown between two top ten pound-for-pound fighters to determine who is one of the best fighters in the world. This bout will be televised on ESPN from Madison Square Garden in New York City this Saturday, December 9th.
Loma – Rigo this Saturday on ESPN
The biggest boxing match of the year airs live on ESPN Saturday, December 9 from the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Top Rank on ESPN will drop gloves just after 9 p.m. ET with a full slate of marquee fights on ESPN, ESPN Deportes on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and the ESPN App following the live presentation of the 2017 Heisman Trophy Ceremony. Calling the fight for ESPN will be Joe Tessitore and Mark Kriegel, with guest analyst Tim Bradley, reporter Bernardo Osuna and on-location contributor Stephen A. Smith. ESPN Deportes’ coverage includes play-by-play from Pablo Viruega and analyst Delvin Rodriguez.
Salido – Roman this Saturday on HBO / Loma – Rigo on BoxNation
The bright lights of Las Vegas shine on the junior lightweight division when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK: ORLANDO SALIDO VS. MIGUEL ROMAN, TEVIN FARMER VS. KENICHI OGAWA AND FRANCISCO VARGAS VS. STEPHEN SMITH is seen SATURDAY, DEC. 9 at 10:20 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) from Mandalay Bay Events Center. The HBO Sports team will call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.
Lomachenko – Rigondeaux: Most of the pressure is on Loma, but there’s plenty on Rigo’s shoulders too
Not long to go now until the most fascinating fight of the year: the boxing purist’s dream that is Vasyl Lomachenko-Guillermo Rigondeaux, a fight which, as all fans know, goes down this Saturday night in New York. Much has been said and written about the all-southpaw encounter, by the fans, by the experts and by the two fighters themselves.
Arum wants Lomachenko vs. Salido after Rigondeaux fight
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is already looking past his fighter Vasyl ‘Hi-Tech’ Lomachenko’s fight against Guillermo Rigondeaux this weekend towards a rematch between Lomachenko and Orlando Salido. Lomachenko (9-1, 7 KOs) suffered his only pro career loss to Salido in 2014 in losing a 12 round split decision, and the loss marred his perfect record. Salido (44-13-4, 31 KOs) is now 37-years-old, and clearly not the same fighter he was in 2014, but that doesn’t matter to Arum.
Is the Lomachenko-Rigondeaux winner the pound-for-pound No.1; Fighter of The Year?
There will be much at stake a week from today, when pound-for-pound stars and former amateur greats Vasyl Lomachenko and Guillermo Rigondeax meet one another at the historic Madison Square Garden in New York: this a most fitting venue, seeing as how the two master boxers will make history by becoming the first ever fighters to have both won two Olympic gold medals and then fought each other at pro level.