Vasiliy Lomachenko hasn’t worn a world title belt since he was upset by Teofimo Lopez in October 2020, which is hard to believe given his pound-for-pound ability and the glut of championship trinkets.
He’ll get a chance to reclaim a belt once more on Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, where he’ll face George Kambosos Jr. for the vacant IBF 135-pound title.
Lomachenko, 36, has said he’s not far from the end of his pugilistic road but he has plenty left to give. The oddsmakers have made him about a 5½-1 favorite to beat Kambosos on the latter’s home soil.
“I’m just looking forward to the IBF title,” the two-time Olympic champion said. “I need to take my title. And then after that, I can think about my future.”
Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) maintains that he deserved to get the decision in the Lopez fight, in which he started slowly – perhaps because he fought with a nagging shoulder injury – but rallied in the later rounds to make it a close fight.
However, it was too little too late for all three judges, who gave Lopez the nod and the Ukrainian’s championship belts.
Many believe that Lomachenko did enough to beat then-unbeaten and undisputed lightweight champ Devin Haney in May of last year, as he delivered a vintage performance.
Again, though, Lomachenko ended up on the wrong end of a close, but unanimous decision, which allowed Haney to retain his belts and left the loser frustrated one more time.
The fight on Saturday is different from the two mentioned above, at least on paper.
Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) delivered a monumental upset when he outpointed Lopez to become champion in 2021. However, Lopez fought with a life-threatening condition in which air surrounded his heart, which presumably affected his performance.
And Kambosos has struggled since, losing back-to-back fights to Haney and then eking out a decision over journeyman Maxi Hughes.
Some believe Kambosos, a fiery, tough but limited boxer, is a one-hit wonder who will be in over his head against a master technician like Lomachenko.
Of course, Lomachenko has been around too long to take anything or anyone for granted. He repeatedly referred to the matchup as “interesting,” which apparently was his way of giving Kambosos his due.
“I’ve been in this sport a long time,” he said. “We are two professionals. We know boxing. It will be very, very interesting for both. It will be very, very interesting for all fans of boxing.”
Lomachenko sat atop some credible pound-for-pound lists before the setback against Lopez. That distinction will probably remain in his past as a new generation of stars make their way up the list.
That said, Lomachenko (ranked No. 13 by Boxing Junkie) could still make a significant move if certain things fall into place.
Promoter Bob Arum, who handles both Lomachenko and sublimely skilled Shakur Stevenson, said he wants to pair the two together if Lomachenko beats Kambosos and Stevenson gets past Artem Harutyunyan on July 6.
Then Lomachenko would have the opportunity to get back to where he and many others believe he belongs, among the best handful of fighters on the planet.
[lawrence-related id=41819,41817]