Former WBC cruiserweight champion and top heavyweight contender Tony Bellew believes Mikey Garcia is not on the same level as WBO super featherweight world champion Vasyl Lomachenko.
One of the most talked-about potential fights for 2018, is a showdown between Lomachenko and Garcia.
Lomachenko (10-1, 8 KOs) is heading to the lightweight division in the near future, and Garcia (37-0, 30 KOs) holds the WBC world title in the division.
Garcia is going for a fourth world title in February, when he faces IBF junior welterweight champion Sergey Lipinets. There is no guarantee that Garcia will remain at the weight, as he made a request to the World Boxing Council to hold on to his lightweight title for a potential return to the division.
Lomachenko just had a dominating stoppage win over fellow two-time Olympic gold medal winner Guillermo Rigondeaux earlier this month.
Unless a challenge presents itself at super featherweight, Lomachenko is planning to put on more pounds to pursue a third world title at 135-pounds.
Garcia is more than willing to return to the lightweight ranks, for the reasons, if a lucrative opportunity turns up.
"I would love to see Vasyl Lomachenko against Mikey Garcia, because it's such a good fight. I think Lomachenko wins, but Garcia is going to pose him problems that he hasn't encountered before - punch power, punch resistance, size. Different things that Lomachenko hasn't had to handle yet, so that for me is a big, big fight," Bellew told Sky Sports.
"I don't believe Garcia is on the same level as Lomachenko when it comes to boxing brains, especially when it comes to foot movement and things like that.
"It will be a good fight, because Garcia is never going to back down. He's as strong as they come, can punch hard with either hand, and will pose different threats to Vasyl Lomachenko, but ultimately he will still go the same as the other fighters by ending with an L on his record."
