Lomachenko’s Manager Calling Out Lee Selby

07/04/201507/03/2015 Olly Campbell

We last saw him looking fantastic on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao fight on May 2nd, and in the clearest sign yet of what we can expect next from WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko, his manager Egis Klimas has spoken to ESPN to say that two likely options exist for the Ukrainian former amateur standout – former WBA 126 lb champ Simpiwe Vetyeka, or new IBF champion Lee Selby.

Selby was nothing short of sublime last time out 5 weeks ago in London, halting tough Russian champion and IBF fighter of the year Evgeny Gradovich. The doctor was forced to intervene after a nasty cut opened up above the former champion’s eye – yet it was always only a matter of time before the Welsh fighter turned up the heat even further than he already had, and some may say, the cut only saved Gradovich from further punishment.

continue

Bob Arum: ‘No Catch-Weight For Walters v Lomachenko’

06/17/2015 Olly Campbell

As soon as Jamaica’s Nicholas Walter’s appeared at the weigh in ahead of his WBA 126 lb fight last Saturday against Miguel Marriaga, those in attendance and watching proceedings elsewhere could see immediately that he was drained.

After missing weight and dropping his title on the scales, the fans who had been looking forward to the mooted unification fight with WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko, were left scratching their heads, wondering if it will indeed now happen if the “Axe Man” is no longer able to make the weight and intends on moving up.

continue

Santa Cruz vs Cayetano; Lomachenko vs Rodriguez Quotes / Photo Gallery

05/01/201504/30/2015 Showtime Boxing

Undefeated WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion Leo “El Terremoto” Santa Cruz, WBO Featherweight World Champion Vasyl Lomachenko, their opponents and non-televised fighters participated Thursday in the undercard final press conference before their respective fights taking place this Saturday, May 2, live on pay-per-view at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

In pay-per-view fights before Floyd “Money” Mayweather meets Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao in their epic welterweight championship unificiation showdown, the Mexican star Santa Cruz (29-0-1, 17 KOs) will take on fellow Mexican countryman Jose Cayetano (17-3, 8 KOs) in a 10-round featherweight contest and Ukraine’s Lomachenko (3-1, 1 KO) will defend against Puerto Rico’s Gamalier Rodriguez (25-2-3, 17 KOs).

continue

2014/2015 Reviews & Previews: Nicholas Walters, Guilliermo Rigondeaux, Leo Santa Cruz, Vasyl Lomachenko, Sergey Kovalev, Adonis Stevenson, & Jean Pascal

01/02/201501/01/2015 Vivek Wallace

(Note: In the fourth installment of a week long breakdown, boxing scribe Vivek “Vito” Wallace analyzes where today’s top fighters stand, and whether or not 2015 could be the year many of them fall. This week long analysis will cover over 30 top fighters from around the world)

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX

For the best boxer of this era to rise from the Cuban ranks, 2014 was far from eventful. After a stunning 2013 that saw him defeat both Donaire and Agbeko, 2014 saw him destroy an unknown fighter in China, and forcibly scrape himself off the canvas twice against an unknown fighter in Japan. Definitely not the level of competition you’d like to see from a fighter none as “boring”.

continue

Two Current Olympic Champions on the Professional Arena on Saturday

11/20/201411/20/2014 Ivan Ivanov

The under card of the main event featuring Manny Pacquiao vs. Chris Algieri on Nov. 22 at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort, Macao, contains two other names that are worth mentioning: WBO featherweight champ Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1) who is also the current lightweight Olympic champion from the Ukraine and Zou Shiming (5-0), still the light flyweight Olympic champion from China.

Vasyl Lomachenko will defend his title against a Thai boxer by the name of Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo who brings a record of 52 professional wins and 1 loss. The Ukranian is a double Olympic champion and triple World Amateur champion and now holds the WBO featherweight title. His pro record consists of two wins and one loss and it is quite unusual for a champion. Most boxers would still be doing 4 and 6 round fights and would not even dream of fighting for world titles on their second and third fight.

continue

Pacquiao will have a hard time catching Mayweather, says Lomachenko

09/24/2014 Rob Smith

WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KOs) thinks that WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) will have a really tough time trying to catch up to WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr (47-0, 26 KOs) to land his power shots if Mayweather moves around the ring like he did against Marcos Maidana earlier this month in their rematch on September 13th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mayweather used movement for 12 rounds to elude Maidana’s fierce attacks, and while Maidana did an excellent job of cutting off the ring, he wasn’t quick enough to catch Mayweather enough to be competitive.

continue

Pacquiao-Algieri PPV Undercard Packs Plenty of Int’l Intrigue

09/18/201409/18/2014 Top Rank

MACAO (September 18, 2014) — World champions VASYL LOMACHENKO and JESSIE VARGAS and China’s most iconic athlete, undefeated Top-Five contender ZOU SHIMING, will be featured in exciting battles on the MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO vs. CHRIS ALGIERI World Welterweight Championship pay-per-view undercard. Promoted by Top Rank® and Sands China Ltd., in association with MP Promotions, Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, Banner Promotions and Tecate, the Pacquiao-Algieri world welterweight championship event will take place Saturday, November 22, at The Venetian® Macao’s Cotai Arena, and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.

continue

Will Top Rank let Lomachenko fight Rigondeaux and Mikey Garcia?

06/23/2014 Jeff Sorby

With Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KO’s) beating one of the better featherweights in the division last Saturday night in Gary Russell Jr (24-1, 14 KO’s) in their fight for the vacant WBO featherweight title, Lomachenko has removed one of the bigger names in the division.

Easily the best options for Lomachenko to fight is super bantamweight Guillermo Rigondeaux and WBO super featherweight champion Mikey Garcia. Rigondeaux is a two-time Olympic gold medalist from Cuba with even better counter punching skills than Lomachenko and a far superior body puncher. However, Rigondeaux already took down one of Top Rank’s stars by beating Nonito Donaire with ease last year, and there’s been no attempt by Top Rank to let Donaire attempt to redeem himself.

continue

Vasyl Lomachenko is back on track with a championship performance against Gary Russel Jr.

06/22/201406/22/2014 Ivan Ivanov

Vasyl Lomachenko delivered handsomely on Saturday night as he dismantled a capable and game but hopelessly over-matched Gary Russell Jr. The fight lived up to the expectations to some extent as boxing logic triumphed but Russell was swamped by a superior force from the start and could not bring drama and glamor to the encounter. Vasyl Lomachenko is the new WBO featherweight champion and he is only the second boxer to win a title in his third prize fight.

Loma is making some progress with the judges’ attitude, they grudgingly gave him the nod (116:112, 116:112, 114:114-?!?). The even score produced by one of them would have been hilarious rather than mysterious….if it hadn’t been grotesque. The punch stats indicate Lomachenko out landed his opponent 183:83 overall. He also landed the harder shots and held the initiative although Garry Russell Jr. threw more and missed much more. Missing so much is the definition of punching yourself out – it tires you more than landing.

continue

Guerrero, Lomachenko, Alexander Win SHOWTIME Slugfests

06/22/201406/22/2014 Showtime Boxing

CARSON, Calif. (June 22, 2014) – Former four-division world champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (32-2-1, 18 KOs), of Gilroy, Calif., capped a spectacularly exciting night of ferocious non-stop action where each fight was better than the last with a Fight Of The Year candidate 12-round unanimous decision over Yoshihiro Kamegai (24-2-1, 21 KOs), of Sapporo, Japan, Saturday on SHOWTIME®.

In a collision of two highly-skilled, exciting southpaw featherweights in the co-feature on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, international amateur standout Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KO), of Ukraine, won a hard-fought 12-round majority decision over previously undefeated yet untested Gary Russell Jr. (24-1, 14 KOs), of Capitol Heights, Md., to capture the vacant WBO world 126-pound crown.

continue