By Edward Chaykovsky
According to Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum, there is a good possibility that his fighter, WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko, could end up facing WBA/WBO super bantamweight king Guillermo Rigondeaux.
The camps of the two boxers have been trading words in the press over the fight terms.
A meeting between the two of them would make a legendary showdown between two of best amateur fighters in history. Both boxers have captured two Olympic gold medals.
Arum does point out that Rigondeaux would have to move up to the featherweight limit of 126-pounds. Both Arum and Team Lomachenko stand united against the idea of a catch-weight. Rigondeaux's manager Gary Hyde wanted a contract weight of 124-pounds and that's not going to happen.
“There is a good chance of it happening. I’ve got to get back and put everything together, but I’d like to do that fight,” Arum told Boxing Monthly. “I think the Rigondeaux team is all right. I didn’t like Rigondeaux’s style, but I think it meshes good with Lomachenko. It would be a sensational fight. I would never agree to a catch weight. It would be in the Fall. We are looking at Chicago as a possible place.”
Besides Chicago, Arum says a secondary location for that fight would be Dubai. That planned card would feature Tim Bradley defending the WBO welterweight championship against unbeaten mandatory challenger Sadam Ali.
“I will know about Dubai when I get back to the States,” said Arum. “A delegation from Dubai is supposedly meeting with me the week beginning 20th July. We’ll see. There has been a lot of good talk, but whether it’s realistic – I’ll know next week. If that came to fruition, I would put Lomachenko vs Rigondeaux on the card and maybe, also to make a super card, [Nonito] Donaire, if he wins, and [Scott] Quigg, if he wins.”