By Keith Idec
When asked Friday during an ESPN interview why he has called Vasyl Lomachenko the best fighter he has seen since Muhammad Ali, promoter Bob Arum made a comparison to one of Lomachenko’s contemporaries.
Arum told Max Kellerman, Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim on ESPN’s “First Take” that what separates the gifted Ukrainian southpaw from Floyd Mayweather Jr. is that he closes shows and seeks to take out his opponents. Their interview was part of ESPN’s promotion of the Lomachenko-Miguel Marriaga 130-pound title fight the network will televise Saturday night from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
“Now Floyd Mayweather’s a great, great defensive fighter – there’s no doubt about it,” Arum said. “But Floyd is content to win fights by out-scoring an opponent, scoring more punches than the opponent hits him with and wins on points. Now Lomachenko closes the show. You can’t hit him because his distance is so good, his footwork is so good. But he’s always looking for ways to destroy the opponent and he always does.
“So I look at Lomachenko as the best that I’ve seen. And my matchmaker, Bruce Trampler, compares him to the old-time fighters and feels like guys like Sandy Saddler or Willie Pep or Salvador Sanchez or even Alexis Arguello would be no match for Vasyl Lomachenko.”
The 29-year-old Lomachenko is 7-0 since he lost his second pro fight – a 12-round split decision to Mexico’s Orlando Salido (44-13-4, 31 KOs, 1 NC) three years ago in San Antonio. The two-time Olympic gold medalist is ranked among the top five fighters in boxing on credible pound-for-pound lists.
“He goes both ways in the sense that he’s a great defensive fighter, probably one of the best that I’ve ever seen,” Arum said. “But he combines it with a great offensive style. In other words, you can’t hit him because his footwork is so good, his judgment of distance is so good. But while he’s avoiding punches, he’s always looking for weaknesses in the opponent and he looks to take the opponent out, or to make the opponent quit.”
ESPN’s broadcast will begin Saturday night at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT with a 10-round lightweight bout that’ll match Phoenix’s Ray Beltran (33-7-1, 21 KOs, 1 NC) against Costa Rica’s Bryan Vasquez (35-2, 19 KOs). Lomachenko (8-1, 6 KOs) and Colombia’s Marriaga (25-2, 21 KOs) will fight for Lomachenko’s WBO super featherweight title.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
