Is Lomachenko is on his way to establishing himself as a great?
Last night we as boxing fans learned a few things, one being Vasyl Lomachenko is human, he can overcome adversity to win, he was able to fight through a shoulder injury he suffered during the early stages of his fight with Jorge Linares and well the Ukrainian star is pretty damn good.
First, in a bout where Linares was starting to look somewhat frustrated he was able to land a solid straight right hand that dropped Lomachenko during the sixth round. It was actually something that I was happy to see. Why you ask? Simple, every great fighter needs to be able to prove they can get up to win. Well except Floyd Mayweather. Although an argument could be made against that as well.
Second, Lomachenko revealed during the post fight press conference that he suffered a minor shoulder injury early in the bout. He was able to adjust to the discomfort he said and continue to move forward. Good sign.
Now before everyone gets started with the all time great talk let’s remember it’s 12 damn fights! Is he special? Absolutely. Is he arguably the most talented fighter in the world? Yes that’s definitely debatable although guys like his stable mate Terence Crawford may have something to say about that. One thing that’s not debatable however is that Vasyl Lomachenko is a truly special fighter.
So what’s next for the man labeled as “The Matrix”? His promoter Bob Arum said Lomachenko will be back in the ring on August 25th in Los Angeles, presumably at the Forum. His likely opponent will be WBO lightweight champion Ray Beltran.
Beltran may not be the opponent most fans want but he is a division champion that gives Lomachenko the chance to unify for the first time in his career. It also could potentially set up a mega-fight against the winner of the July 28th unification bout between Mikey Garcia and Robert Easter Jr.
It’s still early for Lomachenko and his pursuit of greatness but he appears to be on his way. I do believe however that he may be hitting his limit as far as how far up in can go in weight.
By: Chris Henderson
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