Vasyl Lomachenko Feels Loss To Teofimo Lopez Was The Result Of Bribery
In the two months following his upset loss to Teofimo Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) on October 17, 2020, we have heard very little from former unified WBA ‘Super’/WBO World Lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs). The former champion underwent surgery for a torn right labrum days after the fight. He also has not taken time to give his full take on the fight… until now.
During a sit-down interview on his official YouTube channel, “Loma” gave his take on the fight and the events leading up.
He revealed he took injections to alleviate shoulder pain during his preparation for Lopez. Asked why he did not postpone, the 32-year-old from Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Ukraine, expressed concern.
Ultimately he felt he could fight through it. Furthermore, given the perilous backdrop of COVID-19 and the significance of the bout, too much was on the line.
SO MUCH AT STAKE
“I was worried when we signed the contract as well. I thought what if somebody catch the virus? What if somebody from the Bootcamp and fight won’t take place?
I propose everyone to see it from where I’m standing. Can you believe you’re having this chance? And the chance is today. You have no idea of what’s gonna happen tomorrow in the world. What if the pandemic gets worse, and everything is closed for the next one or two years?
Nobody knows what happens next. Besides, there’s too much at stake. MRI didn’t show a big problem. MRI showed bursitis. It’s very common.
Bursitis was supposed to cause pain. I made injections for the treatment of bursitis, but it didn’t help. I had to stop my sparring sessions for one week after the injections. After I came back, it started hurting again in a couple of days.
I made another injection. It happened three times. My father told me to postpone the fight. But I believed that everything would be fine.”
“LOMA” IS PISSED OFF
Despite the physical trauma leading up to the fight, Lomachenko is adamant he did enough to have his hand raised in victory. In his view, he should have been declared the winner and believes the judging was unfair.
“I didn’t lose the fight. I watched it around five times, I took the second round. He took the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th. The 6th remains questionable.
However, his win reflects the bias against myself. If we counted the scorecards strictly by the book, the scorecards would be different. I took one round for the first half of the fight and five rounds for the second one, namely 7-11 rounds.
We’ve got 6-6 which is a draw. And if it’s a draw, we use the unspoken rule of boxing. We look for 10-12 rounds, and I won two of them; it’s 2-1. Even if I won three rounds in the first half of the fight, I wouldn’t win the fight on the scorecards.
What does it say? It’s not about bias, it’s about being bribed. There was nothing about honest judging. I don’t know whose game it was.”
While feeling essentially the fix was to his detriment, the former champion wants a rematch with Lopez.
“I think there should be a revenge. The question is whether he agrees to the revenge. I think he won’t.
They are afraid. Because they know I had an injury. And I won’t be the same without the injury on the revenge.”
It is rare to see Loma speak so angrily. He is salty about what went down both before and during his fight with Lopez and wants to run it back as soon as he is healed from the surgery. The question now is, will the man who was once called the Pound 4 Pound king get his chance at retribution? At this point it is out of his hands and the ultimate unknown.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
