WBA, WBO world lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko is preparing hard for his unification with IBF champion Teofimo Lopez, which is scheduled for October 17 at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.
Lomachenko will be taking one of his biggest career fights behind closed doors - which he felt was necessary in the current climate.
"Because nobody knows when this [pandemic] finishes. Because it is close to my goal, my dream. That's why I want to take this," Lomachenko told BBC Sport.
Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs), the young guy on the rise, has been pushing for a fight with Lomachenko for a long time.
He's promising to give Lomachenko a beating when they meet in the ring.
Lomachenko has heard a lot of taking coming from the younger man, but he wants Lopez to back up his boasts when they meet in the ring.
The two-time Olympic gold medal winner is not fully convinced that Lopez is physically and mentally ready for a fight of this magnitude.
"I don't know [if he's ready for this kind of fight]. I think he must be because he talked too much," Lomchaneko said.
"He is a good fighter, a big puncher with speed and power. I know just one thing, if you say something you need to prove it in the ring, that's it. We will see what he has to say after the fight.
"I don't like to lose. This is my motivation. In my blood is only winning. You know what I feel. When you stay in the top you have a very big competition. Everybody is after you and it's good for the sport. Then you fight other top fighters, it's good for boxing history. In this fight, he is a world champion, he's young and we will unify all the titles. I think it's a fight that will go down in history."
