By Elisinio Castillo
Pedro Diaz, trainer of Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs, 1 NC), is laughing at a recent statement made by Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum, who handles Vasyl Lomachenko (9-1, 7 KOs).
Following Lomachenko's most recent victory over Miguel Marriaga, Arum compared the Ukrainian boxer to heavyweight legend Muhammad Ali.
"That's the biggest disrespect I've heard from a promoter. How are you going to compare Lomachenko to Ali? He's trying to sell [Lomachneko], but I'm not going to buy into Lomachenko with Ali, that's disrespectful," Diaz told George Ebro.
Diaz also finds it odd that some have Lomachenko listed as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport.
In the opinion of Diaz, Lomachenko has a long way to go before he is considered to be one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the sport, and he details his own personal list of who belongs in the elite class of pound-for-pound fighters.
"I do not know why [he is listed as such], because Lomachenko still has to learn a lot to get to the level of Rigo. Pound for pound ... when you talk about boxing art, competitive quality, a warrior who thinks, who moves well at all distances... then we talk about Floyd [Mayweather], [Andre] Ward, [Mikey] Garcia, [Terence] Crawford and Rigo, and then, much later, we talk about Lomachenko," Diaz said.
There are ongoing discussions to finalize a showdown between Rigondeaux and Lomachenko for a date in December in New York City.
Rigondeaux, who is the WBA world champion at 122-pounds, would move up by two weight divisions to face Lomachenko, the WBO super featherweight champion, at 130-pounds.
The fight would match two champions, two fighters who won Olympic gold medals on two occasions, and they are regarded as two of the best fighters in the history of amateur boxing.
The fight would be televised by ESPN as part of their new television deal with Top Rank.