By Steve Kim
So who does manager Egis Klimas have in mind next for Vasyl Lomachenko (6-1, 4KOs), who captured the WBO super featherweight title last night by stopping Rocky Martinez in five rounds? Well, a man that they are very familiar with.
Klimas wants his boxer to avenge his only blemish, a 2014 twelve round split decision loss to former world champion Orlando Salido (43-13-4, 30KOs). In that contest, Lomachenko was attempting to win a world title in his second pro fight.
"Probably one of the best [opponents to fight next] would be Salido if he got the WBC title and we could unify. That will be great but we will see. Salido is still on the radar," said Klimas on Sunday afternoon.
Last weekend, Salido engaged in a memorable slugfest versus WBC titlist Francisco Vargas, but had to settle for a draw. Meaning that he has no title at the moment. Which isn't too big of a concern to Klimas, who stated - "He brought the beautiful work and even though he's not the champion he can be first in line as a fighter. For Vasyl, it's very important to fight the best ones.
"So the best doesn't exactly have to be champions, of course, the priority would be to fight other champions. So even though he's not a champion he would be first in line on our radar."
What about 'the Axe Man' Nicholas Walters, who was originally slated to take on Lomachenko this weekend? Is he still on the radar?
"No, not really," said Klimas, flatly. "This weekend his name didn't even come up, his name wasn't even mentioned. Nobody said his name."
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.
