After only 12 fights, Vasily Lomachenko has managed to climb atop multiple official (and unofficial) P4P rankings and wear the title of best in the world. Are we watching a legacy in the making? Or is it all hot air and hype?
His father, Anatoly, was a professional boxer turned trainer; it ran in the blood. At 4 years old Vasily Lomachenko fought his first boxing match. From then on, his father organised city-wide boxing tournaments that occurred almost tri-monthly. Here, Lomachenko would begin his ascent to the top.
Though his father was a boxing man, he never pushed his son to follow in his footsteps. Lomachenko recalls that he was equally involved in Wrestling, Judo, Soccer and Rowing, and for four years his father took him out of Boxing to practise Ukraine's national dance, Hopak.
After trying a variety of other sports for several years, Lomachenko finally picked Boxing.
“When it was time to choose, it was at an age about 13-14 years, then we started training really tough.”
The tough training paid off.
In 2004 he made it onto Ukraine’s Olympic Junior Team and then went on to take first place in the European Amateur Championship, receiving the ‘Best Boxer of the Championship’ accolade in the process. A long string of undefeated bouts followed, but in 2007 Lomachenko met his match in the form of Russia's Albert Selimov. This World Amateur Boxing Championship final accounts for Lomachenko’s first and only amateur loss.
But revenge would come.
A year later, 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing. Lomachenko steps into the ring to face his first opponent. It was none other than Selimov. That year saw Lomachenko bring the Featherweight Olympic Gold medal back to Ukraine, a personal and national victory.
On his father’s advice he delayed entering the professional leagues, and instead entered the 2012 London Olympics*. This time he left with the Gold in the Lightweight division and the title of two-time Olympic Gold medallist – only the twelfth boxer in the history of the Olympics to attain such an achievement.
*That same year, national teammate Oleksandr Usyk (current WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF Cruiserweight World Champion) left with the Heavyweight Gold medal.
After talks with Golden Boy Promotions fell through, Lomachenko signed with Top Rank’s Bob Arum in 2013, on the condition that his second professional fight be for a World Title. He left the amateur ranks with a reported recorded of 396 wins and 1 loss.
In his first professional fight, Lomachenko beat then title holder, Jose Ramirez, with a 4th round KO to become the new WBO International Featherweight Champion. Top Rank stuck to the agreement, and in his second professional fight Lomachenko fought Salido for the WBO World Featherweight Title.
The 12 round split-decision battle, controversial though it was, marks Lomachenko’s first and only professional loss to date. Salido used a multitude of means to beat Lomachenko, and although the barrage of low-blows went ignored, the weight difference did not.
Crowned victorious at the time, Salido was later stripped of the title for coming into the fight a whole 11lbs -almost two weight classes- heavier than Lomachenko.
With the title now vacant, Lomachenko had the opportunity to try again.
In 2014 he beat a previously undefeated Gary Russell Jr (24-0) to take the belt that had escaped him the first time; WBO World Featherweight Champion.
Lomachenko went on to successfully defend his title in three consecutive bouts (Tatakhun, Rodriguez, Koasicha) before deciding it was time to move up a weight class.
He vacated his title, and in his seventh fight bested three-time WBO World Super Featherweight Champion, Roman Martinez. A Round 5 knockout crowned Lomachenko as the new WBO World Super Featherweight Champion.
In the following four consecutive defences of his new title, not one opponent made it past Round 9; they (Walters, Sosa, Marriaga, Rigondeaux) all quit in their corners.
Undefeated in the Super Featherweight division, Lomachenko chose to move up to Lightweight and in what seems to be his fashion, go straight for the title.
His twelfth and most recent fight was against then WBA World Lightweight and WBC Diamond World Lightweight Champion, Jorge Linares. Lomachenko was eager to continue building his legacy, undefeated, but Linares had fought off all contenders and hadn’t lost in 6 years. Both men had a lot on the line.
Though ahead on two of the judge’s scorecards, round 6 looked bleak for Lomachenko as Linares served him with the first knockdown of his professional career, flooring him with a clean, powerful straight right to the chin.
The judges were lost for words and the crowd exploded, no one knew how he’d handle hitting the canvas, but Lomachenko rose and continued with a calculated and unfazed calm, if anything, more awake now than before.
In round 10 he responded to Linares with a devastating liver shot of pinpoint accuracy, after which, Linares just couldn’t stand up.
That fight, Lomachenko earnt a TKO, the WBA World Lightweight Championship belt and a new world record; fastest three division world champion in history.
Where to next?
Based on those facts, I'd say Lomachenko is quickly shaping up to become a legend. I'm not sure where he'll go from here, but I'm certain he'll leave his mark on boxing. Do you agree? Let me know below!
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