Boxing promoter Bob Arum has had a hand in organizing fights with, among other transcendent figures in the sport, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and Manny Pacquiao. Arum?s ingenuity also helped forged boxing?s link with casinos when in 1978 he promoted Ali-Leon Spinks at the Las Vegas Hilton, Arum?s first prize fight at a casino property.
The founder and chief executive of Top Rank Boxing has added yet another milestone to his Hall of Fame r?sum? as the driving force behind the inaugural fight card at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill. Saturday night?s main event features Ukrainian-born 130-pound champion Vasyl Lomachenko against Jason Sosa.
As part of what officials at Top Rank, MGM and HBO, which is televising the featured bouts, envision as the first of many boxing cards to appear at the property, Lomachenko, 29, is placing his World Boxing Organization super featherweight belt on the line in just the ninth fight of his professional career.
In that short time, Lomachenko (7-1, five knockouts) has ascended to among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Even Arum, who regularly has witnessed the greatest in history up close throughout his more than five decades in the fight game, marvels at Lomachenko?s technical acumen.
?I have never, ever seen a fighter with the skill sets that he has,? said Arum, 85, who promoted 27 of Ali?s fights as well as those of others luminaries such as Floyd Mayweather, Marvin Hagler and Oscar De La Hoya. ?He has taken boxing to a new level. This kid has everything. There are great fighters, but nobody, nobody, nobody has that kind of skill set that he has. Nobody that I?ve seen.?
Lomachenko, nicknamed ?Hi Tech? for his pugilistic command, won the 130-pound title last June 11 with a fifth-round knockout of Roman Martinez at Madison Square Garden. The southpaw since has made one defense, dispatching Nicholas Walters on Nov. 26, when Walters didn?t answer the bell after Lomachenko had been cruising through the first seven rounds in Las Vegas.
Considered perhaps the most accomplished amateur fighter in boxing history, Lomachenko won consecutive gold medals at the Olympics, most recently at the 2012 Summer Games in London. Shortly thereafter, Arum signed Lomachenko, whose rapid climb as a professional included winning the WBO featherweight championship in 2014.
?I?m very happy to open MGM for boxing,? Lomachenko, through his manager and interpreter Egis Klimas, said during the final prefight news conference. ?For me, it?s kind of like a historical thing because other big names opened Madison Square Garden, other hotels, other casinos. This for me means I can put that into my history.?
Since moving up to 130 pounds, Lomachenko has encountered issues finding top-level opponents. They won?t fight Lomachenko, according to his team, because of his technical superiority. The frustration led to Top Rank Boxing officials, only partly in jest, bestowing the nickname ?Just Not Next? to Lomachenko.
That tag refers to opponents indicating they would like to face Lomachenko, just not in their next fight.
Such was the case before promoters managed to secure Sosa (20-1-4, 15 KOs) as a long-shot challenger. The Camden, N.J., native accepted the fight after several others turned it down.
?I have to be ready to fight one of top pound-for-pound fighters in the world and the best amateur fighter that ever lived,? said Sosa, 29, the former World Boxing Association 130-pound champion. ?At the end of the day, my team and I have got to be prepared. We want to fight the best. Lomachenko is the best in our weight division right now. That?s what boxing is all about.?
Lomachenko is one of three Ukrainian fighters scheduled for the televised portion of the card, another benchmark in boxing history.
In the bout immediately preceding Lomachenko-Sosa, Oleksandr Gvozdyk (12-0, 10 KOs) takes on Miami?s Yuniesky Gonzalez (18-2, 14 KOs) for the North American Boxing Federation/North American Boxing Organization light heavyweight title. WBO cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (11-0, 10 KOs) also meets Las Vegas?s Mike Hunter (12-0, eight KOs).
Two District-area fighters are set to appear on the undercard as well, most notably undefeated Waldorf native Mike Reed (21-0, 12 KOs), who fights Mexico?s Reyes Sanchez (26-9-2, 15 KOs) in a super lightweight bout.
Local boxers in part helped the event sell out in just two days, according to officials from Top Rank, but a hearty Ukrainian presence also is anticipated in the MGM Theater that holds about 3,000.
?It?s a big responsibility for me,? said Lomachenko, whose balance and footwork come from ballet lessons before his father and trainer, Anatoly Lomachenko, allowed him to box. ?I?m not preparing for an opponent. I am preparing for my name to go into the history books.?
