“You know, my father told me from childhood, ‘If you are strong, show your weakness, but if you are weak, show your strength.’ In this situation, purposefully and personally, it is clear that they are trying to show their strength.
“Powerful people never shout about it, they never try to insult anyone. That person will do it quietly and will prove it by his actions and not by his words. ”
The two had once signed to fight, long before Vasily Lomachenko spoke about Tufimo Lopez back in April 2019. The Lomachenko-Lopez gossip was still going on. Lopez, a young, hot shot power puncher, did not even win his first world title. But he was calling Lomachenko. The two already had a real dislike.
Lomachenko, for whom English is a second language, is not very clear in interviews in that language, and even what he says is often not as concise or clear as he might like. But in his mother tongue he was very clear about Lopez.
“I will hold him accountable for every fight that is called for.”
Eight months later, Lopez claimed the IBF title with a hard-fought and experienced veteran Richard Comey’s second-round pick. And now, 10 months later, the battle continues. On Saturday, October 17 (ESPN, 10pm ET), Lomachenko and Lopez meet on the line with three world titles.
Loma-Lopez was meant to be in the spring, although it was not officially signed by the COVID-19 epidemic before mid-March to mid-June. And there were issues in the conversation, but now none of that matters. The bottom line is that there is fighting. This is the kind of matching we always want to see in boxing.
From a fan’s point of view, this is probably the most anticipated battle of 2020. It may not have the general appeal of a fight like Wilder-February 2 in February, but it won’t be on pay-as-you-go. See, which would mean easy exposure, and the fight is heavily encouraged by ESPN. It’s a big fight, and it has some critical / mainstream appeal.
It’s just an easy sale as an attraction. The world’s top light heavyweight, a fighter magician, both criminal and defensive, is 32 years old and still in his presidency, but may soon be over. He is also the number one consensus in the world pound-for-pound, and has won two Olympic gold medals as one of the best amateur fighters. And in front of him is a 23 year old powerhouse, with speed and skill and a great personality.
When Lomachenko received support in October 2013, he did so with a lot of hype and echo, and he didn’t come to fight any friction, either. Jose Luis Ramirez was not a star, but he had a 25-25 Pro record and was coming out of a great win against Ray Bautista.
Lomachenko defeated him in four, and claimed a modest WBO featherweight belt, meaning a high WBO ranking, meaning the Ukrainian could go for his real goal: a world title in his second-round battle. . He got the chance, in March 2014 to face the veteran Orlando Solido. Salido lost a lot of weight (too much), but the fight continued.
