When Bob Arum?s Top Rank Inc. signed two-time Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko out of Ukraine in 2013, the outspoken promoter did not mince words, calling Lomachenko the best fighter he?s seen since a young Muhammad Ali, who Arum promoted to start his career 51 years ago.
That?s about as tough a comparison to live up to as imaginable in this sport. But Lomachenko, a southpaw who compiled an incomparable 396-1 record as an amateur, did not attempt to downplay his arrival on the professional scene. ?I am not like most fighters. I want to be on the list of the greatest, best boxers in history,” he said, shrugging off the pressure of otherworldly expectations.
He wanted to fight for a title in his first professional bout, and had to settle for that in his second bout. He won his first world title in Fight No. 3.
Four years after joining Top Rank?s talented stable, Lomachenko has made believers out of even the most cynical among the media and fans, showing off spectacular ring skills that are even better than advertised.
The 29-year-old WBO super featherweight titlist (9-1, 7 KOs) will get yet another chance to prove himself on the national stage on Saturday night (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET), when he puts his belt on the line against another two-time Olympic gold medalist, Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs), the Cuban defector and himself one of the most skilled fighters in the sport, at the sold-out Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Lomachenko versus Rigondeaux is historic, the first matchup ever between two-time Olympic gold medalists. But will it be a fight worth watching?
The fighter nicknamed ?Hi-Tech? has turned his fights into entertaining, must-see events, showing off an astonishing array of footwork and volume power-punching in the ring. His trainer father, Anatoly, the longtime Ukrainian national coach, made his son take ballet lessons before he ever stepped in the ring, which accounts for the footwork.
Rigondeaux is also one of the most skilled boxers in the world, but the 37-year old, who compiled an amateur record of 463-12 and won gold for Cuba in 2000 and 2004, does not engender the same watchability as Lomachenko. His style is more along the lines of Floyd Mayweather Jr. ? avoid contact, make the opponent look bad and win on points ? which, to fans who thrive on continuous action and massive fistic exchanges, does not sit well.
But Arum explains why he believes Lomachenko, ranked No. 3 on Ring Magazine?s pound-for-pound list, will not allow a typical Rigondeaux fight to happen on Saturday. It comes down to a difference in styles between Eastern Europeans and Cubans.
?The Eastern European style is technically really good. Lomachenko is unbelievable,? Arum told USA TODAY this week. ?When he?s sizing up an opponent, he always looks for ways to destroy him. The Cuban fighter is different. He looks for weaknesses, then looks to pile up points and then looks to coast to a victory. He?s not interested so much in destroying his opponent.
?If you can prevent the Cuban from piling up points early, you can keep it to where it?s a fight you?re winning or it?s an even fight. These guys will fight to win but they?ll fight to win in a different way. So Lomachenko, as long as he doesn?t give away points early, which he won?t, he?ll have Rigondeaux fighting for as long as the fight lasts.
?Watch Rigondeaux?s fights. Early on he?s fairly aggressive, winning points. And then when he?s thoroughly demoralized his opponent and has piled up the points, then he coasts to victory and stinks the place out. Well, if you don?t let him do that, he won?t stink the place out.
?I think this is going to be a very, very good fight, a very interesting fight because Rigondeaux is not going to be able to gut out a big lead on points on Lomachenko. Therefore he will have to fight the entire fight, as long as it goes, to win.?
Rigondeaux, who is promoted by Roc Nation Sports and is No. 4 on Ring?s pound-for-pound list, is moving up two weight classes to fight Lomachenko, going from 122 to 130 pounds.
?I went up to 130 because it was the only way I could get this fight made,? Rigo said through an interpreter during a recent conference call. ?I would rather it have been at a lower weight, but I want to show the world that I can do it by moving up two weight classes. . . . I feel stronger than ever and I am going to do it and do it right. Moving up has had no negative effect whatsoever on my speed or power.?
Rigondeaux has been woefully inactive in the last few years, having only two fights since 2015, which lasted a grand total of three rounds. His last bout against undefeated Moises Flores in June ended in a first-round knockout by Rigondeaux, who landed a left that put Flores on the canvas and he didn?t get up. However, the KO was changed to a no-contest by the Nevada Athletic Commission when it was ruled that Rigo?s KO punch came after the bell.
Rigondeaux showed in that fight he had the power to put a super bantamweight to sleep, but fighting at 130 is a whole different story.
Still ?El Chacal? (The Jackal) retains his supreme confidence despite going up against easily the best opponent he has faced, amateur or pro.
?If Lomachenko was reborn ten times, there wouldn?t be a version of him that could beat me,? the Cuban said boldly.
Lomachenko, coming off a seventh-round stoppage of Miguel Marriaga in August, claims he will ?squash? Rigondeaux.
?I am going to walk through him like a tank. . . . There is a good possibility that the fight will end before the twelfth round,? Lomachenko said. ?I am not promising to knock him out but I am promising to squash him.?
Asked if this fight would end like it did against former champion Nicholas Walters with a No Mas (no more), Lomachenko responded, ?You can call me NoMaschenko.?
This is the 30th fight Arum has promoted at either the big arena or the theater at Madison Square Garden. He started with Ali vs. Oscar Bonavena on closed circuit TV on Dec. 7, 1970, and Lomachenko-Rigondeaux will be the fourth fight into Top Rank?s deal with ESPN to televise his company?s fights. Two of Arum?s popular young signees, former Olympians Michael Conlan of Ireland and Shakur Stevenson of the USA, will fight on Saturday’s televised undercard.
Arum, who turned 86 on Friday, couldn?t be more happy with his deal with ESPN, which he says has surpassed ?even our crazy expectations. ESPN has proved to be a really tremendous partner.
?Here were guys that really weren?t into the sport of boxing. They were into college football, basketball but not into boxing. Now you should listen to these guys talk. They?re all boxing fans, and they can?t do enough for the sport.?
Arum believes that his deal with ESPN has exposed the UFC and is proving that boxing can outdraw the king of the mixed martial arts promotions. And his ESPN deal, he says, is skewing the boxing audience younger because millennials don?t have to pay for a premium network to watch the sport.
?The idea that UFC is more popular than boxing, or anywhere near as popular as boxing, is being exploded by us through these ESPN shows,? Arum said. ?Why do you think (UFC President) Dana White is talking about going into boxing? Because we?ve exposed that and he realizes it.?
