By Ryan Burton
BoxingScene.com recently caught up with Top Rank CEO Bob Arum and spoke to the Hall of Fame promoter about a variety of topics, including WBO lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (6-1, 4KOs) who returns to the ring on November 26th against unbeaten former champion Nicholas Walters.
Arum had previously stated that he believes Lomachenko is pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world. During our conversation he explained why.
"Judging a fighter - they are all in different weight classes - and saying that I believe Lomachenko is the best in the world is a matter of taste. Some people like a good fish dinner and some people like a good steak. I like the way Lomachenko fights. I like his skill set. He is almost like a ballet dancer. I love his movement, the technical nature of how he fights," Arum explained.
Lomachenko's deep desire to be the best is what Arum believes sets the Ukrainian apart from the rest of the pack. Arum said that getting the best possible opponent is the most important aspect of deciding who will be his opponents.
"Talking with his manager Egis Klimas who has talked to Lomachenko (about it), the bigger the challenge, the more Vasyl wants the fight. He doesn't want any walkovers. He doesn't want any fights that are meaningless. He has a lot of pride. He always looks for the biggest possible test, not necessarily the fight that makes him the most money but the fight that is going to challenge him the most," Arum revealed.
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