FIGHT WEEK
A look at the coming week in boxing in capsules.
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VASILIY LOMACHENKO (14-1, 10 KOs)
VS. TEOFIMO LOPEZ (15-0, 12 KOs)
When: Saturday, Oct. 17
Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas
TV: ESPN
Division: Lightweight
At stake: Lomachenko’s WBA, WBC and WBO, and Lopez’s IBF titles
Odds: Lomachenko 3-1
Also on the card: Alex Saucedo vs. Arnold Barboza Jr., junior welterweights
Prediction: Lomachenko UD
Background: Lomachenko is ranked No. 1 on the Boxing Junkie pound-for-pound list for a reason: He has been a dominating fighter almost since the day he started his pro career. The three-division titleholder will be attempting to become an undisputed champion for the first time, if you consider him the WBC titleholder in light of his “franchise champion” designation. Boxing Junkie does. Some have suggested the 32-year-old Ukrainian boxing wizard, a two-time Olympic champion, has begun to slip. They base that opinion on victories over Jorge Linares and Luke Campbell in which he looked vulnerable at times. Some also believe the former 126- and 130-pound titleholder will be at a size disadvantage against Lopez at 135. Lopez has put together a string of sensational victories but doesn’t have a deep resume. He won his title in December when he stopped Richard Commey, his toughest opponent to date. Lopez definitely passes the eye test. He is skillful, quick and powerful. We’ll see if he has what it takes against arguably the best boxer on the planet.
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LEWIS RITSON (20-1, 12 KOs)
VS. MIGUEL VAZQUEZ (42-9, 16 KOs)
When: Saturday, Oct. 17
Where: Peterborough, England
TV: DAZN (Sky Sports in U.K.)
Division: Junior welterweight
At stake: Nothing
Odds: NA
Also on the card: Savannah Marshall vs. Hannah Rankin, middleweights (for Marshall’s title); Thomas Patrick Ward vs. Thomas Essomba, junior featherweights; Qais Ashfaq vs. Marc Leach, junior featherweights
Prediction: Ritson UD
Background: Ritson has proven himself on the European level and is ranked by three of the four major sanctioning bodies, No. 2 by the WBA. The 27-year-old Newcastle fighter hopes that a victory in his twice-delayed bout with Vazquez will be another step toward making an impact on the world level. He is coming off an impressive unanimous-decision victory over capable Robbie Davies Jr. in October of last year, which means he will have been out of the ring for a year because of the coronavirus. Vazquez, 33, was a dominating lightweight titleholder beginning a decade ago – he held a title for four years — but he hasn’t been as successful in recent fights. The Mexican is 3-4 in his last seven fights going back to 2017, losing to Josh Taylor, Thulani Mbenge, Ohara Davies and Batyrzhan Jukembayev. He is coming off a fifth-round TKO over journeyman Jesus Miguel Velasco in December.