Terence Crawford Claims #1 Pound-for-Pound over Vasiliy Lomachenko!
The longstanding argument among boxing fans and enthusiasts involves who is the top pound for pound fighter! Depending on who you ask, this topic goes back and forth between two of the best fighters in the game right now; WBO welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford (35-0, 26ko) and fellow stablemate unified lightweight champion Vasiliy “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko (14-1, 10ko).
The two Top Rank fighters sit atop the majority of boxing fans’ lists and for good reason.
While promoting his upcoming title defense against Egidijus Kavaliauskas (21-0-1, 17ko) on ESPN, the WBO champion offered his assessment.
“Lomachenko is a great fighter. I take nothing away from him. I take my hat off to him. I like to watch him fight each and every time he fights. It’s just, in my opinion, I feel like I’m number one above him.”
LINING UP THE RESUMES
Many would agree, however, a strong case can be made for the Ukrainian southpaw. Besides winning titles in three divisions, the names on his resume are impressive. The names include Gary Russell Jr, Nicholas Walters, Jorge Linares and Guillermo Rigondeaux.
Crawford’s accomplishments hold their own also. He has won championships in three different divisions, became undisputed champion in one and added names like Yuriorkis Gamboa, Ricky Burns, Victor Postol, Julius Indongo and Jeff Horn to his resume.
It’s worth mentioning that both defeated former pound for pounds fighters. Crawford knocked out and undefeated, two-time featherweight champion Gamboa. Alternatively, in arguably his biggest win to date, Lomachenko made the once “boogeyman” Rigondeaux quit, which is the ultimate embarrassment in boxing.
If there is one deciding factor that could edge it for the Nebraska superstar, it would be the fact he was once an undisputed junior welterweight champion. However, this can easily change, considering the recent issues the WBO champion is having with not being able to fight some of the bigger names in the division. This has hindered his momentum and is the reason why pundits have dropped him down a notch or two…even three!
Lomachenko on the other hand, is picking up steam and has more options. He is waiting to fight the winner of IBF champion Richard Commey vs #1 contender Teofimo Lopez. Furthermore, there is the option of moving back down to junior lightweight where fights can be made with champions such as Miguel Berchelt, Tevin Farmer and Jamel Herring.
Bottom line whether we agree or disagree about who is number one, its a hard sell to put anyone above either of these two fighters.
By: Garrisson Bland
