Vasyl Lomachenko is a -2500 betting favorite vs. Jason Sosa heading into Saturday night’s 10 p.m ET/PT showdown on HBO. Lomachenko is the best fighter in the world, and he?s facing a guy in Sosa who had a draw with the fighter Lomachenko (7-1, 5 KOs) just humiliated in his last fight. If you watch this bout, there?s almost no chance Sosa (20-1-4, 15 KOs) can walk away with the victory.
But that doesn?t mean you shouldn?t watch it anyway. Because if Lomachenko is fighting, you most certainly should.
?Jason Sosa has had an incredible rise especially over the past year and gotten himself a title and Vasyl Lomachenko, having only eight professional fights, has people declaring that he is pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world ?? said Top Rank?s Todd DuBoef during a recent teleconference. ?We love making matches like this. You are talking about two of the top, top fighters in the division. We know it?s going to be an incredible fight between two guys deserving of the accolades they have received.?
If that doesn?t convince you, here are three other compelling reasons to watch the fight.
1) ?He is the closest fighter to perfection in boxing?: That?s not what Lomachenko?s trainer or promoter or manager has said. That?s what Lomacheko?s opponent has said.
See?
Vasyl Lomachenko-Jason Sosa transcript
And he?s right. I explained exactly why Lomachenko is the No. 1 pound for pound fighter in the world (but only the No. 9 ranked Forbes Pound-For-Pound Moneymaker), and it?s because he has a good quality of opposition, other-worldly boxing skills and solid power. Here are two of the most impressive moments I?ve seen of Lomachenko?s eight-fight pro career.
Josh Katzowitz ,
Contributor
I cover the NFL, boxing and every sport in between.
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
Vasyl Lomachenko is a -2500 betting favorite vs. Jason Sosa heading into Saturday night’s 10 p.m ET/PT showdown on HBO. Lomachenko is the best fighter in the world, and he?s facing a guy in Sosa who had a draw with the fighter Lomachenko (7-1, 5 KOs) just humiliated in his last fight. If you watch this bout, there?s almost no chance Sosa (20-1-4, 15 KOs) can walk away with the victory.
But that doesn?t mean you shouldn?t watch it anyway. Because if Lomachenko is fighting, you most certainly should.
?Jason Sosa has had an incredible rise especially over the past year and gotten himself a title and Vasyl Lomachenko, having only eight professional fights, has people declaring that he is pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world ?? said Top Rank?s Todd DuBoef during a recent teleconference. ?We love making matches like this. You are talking about two of the top, top fighters in the division. We know it?s going to be an incredible fight between two guys deserving of the accolades they have received.?
Boxing glove
If that doesn?t convince you, here are three other compelling reasons to watch the fight.
1) ?He is the closest fighter to perfection in boxing?: That?s not what Lomachenko?s trainer or promoter or manager has said. That?s what Lomacheko?s opponent has said.
See?
Vasyl Lomachenko-Jason Sosa transcript
And he?s right. I explained exactly why Lomachenko is the No. 1 pound for pound fighter in the world (but only the No. 9 ranked Forbes Pound-For-Pound Moneymaker), and it?s because he has a good quality of opposition, other-worldly boxing skills and solid power. Here are two of the most impressive moments I?ve seen of Lomachenko?s eight-fight pro career.
And check out the footwork at the 35-second mark.
Josh Katzowitz ,
Contributor
I cover the NFL, boxing and every sport in between.
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
Vasyl Lomachenko is a -2500 betting favorite vs. Jason Sosa heading into Saturday night’s 10 p.m ET/PT showdown on HBO. Lomachenko is the best fighter in the world, and he?s facing a guy in Sosa who had a draw with the fighter Lomachenko (7-1, 5 KOs) just humiliated in his last fight. If you watch this bout, there?s almost no chance Sosa (20-1-4, 15 KOs) can walk away with the victory.
But that doesn?t mean you shouldn?t watch it anyway. Because if Lomachenko is fighting, you most certainly should.
?Jason Sosa has had an incredible rise especially over the past year and gotten himself a title and Vasyl Lomachenko, having only eight professional fights, has people declaring that he is pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world ?? said Top Rank?s Todd DuBoef during a recent teleconference. ?We love making matches like this. You are talking about two of the top, top fighters in the division. We know it?s going to be an incredible fight between two guys deserving of the accolades they have received.?
Boxing glove
If that doesn?t convince you, here are three other compelling reasons to watch the fight.
1) ?He is the closest fighter to perfection in boxing?: That?s not what Lomachenko?s trainer or promoter or manager has said. That?s what Lomacheko?s opponent has said.
See?
Vasyl Lomachenko-Jason Sosa transcript
And he?s right. I explained exactly why Lomachenko is the No. 1 pound for pound fighter in the world (but only the No. 9 ranked Forbes Pound-For-Pound Moneymaker), and it?s because he has a good quality of opposition, other-worldly boxing skills and solid power. Here are two of the most impressive moments I?ve seen of Lomachenko?s eight-fight pro career.
And check out the footwork at the 35-second mark.
2) Sosa is no walkover: At least for most opponents. He was stopped in only his fifth fight, and, curiously, he has four draws in 25 bouts. But he did fight the then-undefeated Nicholas Walters to a draw in 2015, and he?s coming off back-to-back solid performances against Javier Fortuna and Stephen Smith to win and then defend his version of the junior lightweight title (which he had to give up in order to fight Lomachenko). It seems like Sosa has earned the respect of Lomachenko. ?At this point I am happy to fight one of the best in the division and he is the one that took this opportunity,? Lomachenko said during a recent teleconference. ?The other champions were running like rats from a sinking ship and not coming into the ring. Nowadays it?s not about the sport ? all of the boxers have become businessmen and they are looking just to get the money and not the glory.?
3) What if Lomachenko is looking ahead?: It seems unlikely, but Lomachenko could be thinking about potential paydays against the likes of Orlando Salido (the man who barely beat Lomachenko in just his second fight by using plenty of veteran tricks), Miguel Berchelt (who dispatched Francisco Vargas in January and who will meet Takashi Miuri this summer) or Mikey Garcia (who would force Lomachenko to move from 130 pounds to the 135-pound lightweight limit). Yet, here?s the thing: Even if Lomachenko was looking to the future, Sosa probably doesn?t have enough to beat him anyway.
Does HBO want Daniel Jacobs?: Coming off his close decision loss to Gennady Golovkin, Daniel Jacobs managed to grow his brand and increase his visibility. He came ever so close to upsetting Golovkin, and in part, that?s why he?s No. 12 on the Forbes Pound-For-Pound Moneymakers list. He?s controlled by Al Haymon, which means Jacobs is aligned with Premier Boxing Champions and Showtime/CBS.
But HBO reportedly wants to see him again.
Jacobs (who earned a career-high $1.75 million) and Golovkin (who made $2.5 million) fought on HBO PPV in front of 170,000 viewers, because Golovkin?s side controlled the fight. But according to Ring TV, HBO would like to have Jacobs back on its airwaves.
?Danny made a lot of fans that day with his fight against Gennady Golovkin so it?s nice to see that HBO liked what they saw,? Keith Connolly, one of Jacobs? managers, told Ring TV. ?However, we work with Al Haymon and anything we do would have to be agreed upon with him involved. So, it remains to be seen if HBO?s interest will turn into anything more than just flattery. Still, it?s nice to hear they appreciated Danny?s performance.?
Terence Crawford doesn?t want a paycut: Unlike Keith Thurman, who has openly embraced fighting on network TV, Terence Crawford, who?s ranked No. 10 on the Forbes Pound-For-Pound Moneymakers list, isn?t interested in showing off his talents on free TV if it means he?ll make less money.
Crawford asked about ppv. Would he take pay cut and fight on free tv? Nah, he said. (Next fight is “free” HBO)
? Michael Woods (@Woodsy1069) April 4, 2017
Crawford will fight Felix Diaz on May 20 on HBO, and he?s averaged a $1.4 million purse in his last two fights. For the record: when Thurman beat Danny Garcia on CBS last month, an average audience of 3.71 million watched with a peak of 5.1 million. Thurman, meanwhile, made $2 million.
In Crawford?s last fight vs. John Molina on HBO, 806,000 people watched.
First odds for Ward-Kovalev: The Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev rematch was made official this week, and oddsmakers expect another close fight. The opening odds showed this.
.@BovadaLV sends word that Andre Ward is a slight favorite in his rematch vs. Sergey Kovalev.
Ward -155 (20/31)
Kovalev +125 (5/4)
? Josh Katzowitz (@joshkatzowitz) April 4, 2017
