Amir ‘King’ Khan says he knows how to beat Vasily Lomachenko from his experience fighting against old Ukrainian amateurs in the distant past. Khan says you have to beat the 32-year-old Lomachenko at his own game.
The old Ukrainian amateurs liked to make you miss, and then we would nail you with a shot to hurt you, says Khan. Not letting Lomachenko have any opportunities to throw his counters is what the unbeaten IBF lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs) will need to do to defeat Lomachenko on October 17th next month on ESPN.
The former light-welterweight champion Khan says the best strategy to beating WBA/WBC/WBO lightweight champion Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) is to stay on the outside, throw jabs and not give anything to work off of.
“Let me tell you something about Lomachenko. The way you beat Lomachenko; He’s a very patient fighter, he likes to wait, and he likes to time you. He makes you miss, and he hits you,” said Amir Khan to Fighthype. “To beat someone like that, you fight him at his own game.
“He reminds me of the old typical Ukrainian fighters back in the amateur days. They were old amateurs,” Khan continued in analyzing Lomachenko. “How they used to fight the Cubans, he [Lomachenko] has a similar style. He’ll make you wait, make you miss, and counter you with a great shot and hurt you or make you throw one or two.
“So the way to fight him is the jab is key in that fight. The jab and the speed and the long distance. Keeping the fight long, and keeping the range long as well because you don’t want to get too close to him because Loma can throw a couple of combinations in the pocket quite look.
“Look, I don’t think he’ll ever come to welterweight. I think he’s a great champion, and an amazing champion. I’m not going to lie to you. It’s even an honor that you’re mentioning my name about me and him fighting one day. He is one of my heroes, and what he’s done in boxing is amazing,” said Khan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXfKfJFfAtM
One thing that Teofimo has going for him is he throws a lot of single shots, which could limit the opportunities that Lomachenko will have to land his counter punches. If Teofimo is throwing many single punches with knockout intentions on them, it’s going to put Lomachenko in the position where he’ll need to initiate the offense.
If Teofimo can catch Lomachenko with a big shot while he’s coming forward, he may knock him out. At the minimum, Teofimo will stun Loma, and then that he can jump on him to try and finish the job.
“Yes, I will be Franchise champion after I beat Loma,” said Teofimo on social media. “So for everybody, that’s what will make me the undisputed [lightweight] champion. Live on ESPN. Don’t forget Vasily Lomachenko vs. Teofimo Lopez.
“You know the deal. It’s ‘winner takes all,’ and when they say ‘winner takes all,’ they mean, ‘Teofimo takes all.’ I’m looking forward to it. I’m about to make history, man. I’m blessed with this opportunity. I’m thankful, and I’m grateful. It’s been a long time coming, but this is only the beginning. We’re ready to shock the world,” Teofimo said.
To casual boxing fans, the winner of the Lomachenko vs. Teofimo fight will be the undisputed 135-lb champion. They’ll technically hold all four titles at lightweight, which should make them the undisputed champion. However, Devin Haney has the WBC lightweight title, and he’s viewed as the real champion. Lomachenko has got the giveaway Franchise belt, which was given to him after his promoters at Top Rank requested it.
