Vasily Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs) doesn’t agree with the scores handed down by the judges in his 12 round unanimous decision defeat to IBF lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) on Saturday night in their unification match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Lomachenko, 32, says he thinks he was winning the fight after giving away a lot of rounds in the first half of the fight. The judges overwhelmingly gave it to Teofim by the scores: 116-112, 119-109 and, 117-111. The 116-112.
Lomachenko says he’s going to talk with his promoter and manager and decision which move he should make next.
If Loma pushes, he could get a rematch with Teofimo, who came the undisputed lightweight champion tonight in capturing the WBA, WBA, and WBO belts to go along with his IBF title that he came into the contest with.
Teofimo said in the post-fight interview that he’s interested in taking on WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney or moving up to 140 to fight in that weight class.
Top Rank can set-up a rematch between Loma and Teofimo if they wish, but it might not be a good idea. If Lomachenko loses another fight, his career could implode and he can’t afford that. He would be better off moving back down to 130 or preferably 126.
There are some big guys at 130 that might be too big for Lomachenko. If he moves back down to 126, he could prolong his career as a top fighter for a lot longer.
Lomachenko thinks he was winning
“I think in the first half of the fight, he got more rounds than I did, but in the second half of the fight, I took it ver and I was much better,” said Lomachenko in reacting to his loss.
“I want to go home and review the fight. I can’t commentate too much on it.
“At the moment, I think I fought and was winning the fight, but the results are the results. I’m not going to argue right now. I need to see.
“Right now, I’m going home and after that I’m talking to my promoter and my manager and we’ll discuss and make decision,” Lomachenko said when asked what his next move will be.
Teofimo came for war
“I had to dig in there, and it feels good,” said Teofimo after the win. “I’m a fighter, I got to dig in deep, I know he was coming,” Lopez said in explaining why he fought hard in the 12th.
“I can’t give him that. I don’t know if they have him up on the scorecards or not. I love to fight, and I can bang too. I’ll take one to give one.
‘That’s what a true champion does, I come out there and I find a way to win. Honestly, it was to keep pressuring him, putting the gas on him.
“That’s all you got to do. Stick the jab and not give him the opportunity to set up. Every time he wanted to throw, I had something ready for him.
“At least something to throw. So it kind of stopped his momentum. On top of that, he’s had a 14-month layoff. I knew it was going to take him a long time to catch up.
“Take me to 140 or I can fight the two-time email champion Devin Haney. If they want that. I love messing with everybody. It’s the Takeover, and it’s time for the new generation to come up.
“It was for me to pave the way for everybody. Shakur Stevenson. Who else? Edgar Berlanga, Jose Vargas, so many cats out there. They’re ready to take over the world,” said Teofimo.
Lopez fought well in the 12th, and that was important that he close out the fight in a strong way rather than fighting defensively.
