By Steve Kim
There was a lot of talk last week that a fight between WBO 130-pound champion, Vasyl Lomachenko, and Jason Sosa (who holds a version of the WBA belt) was in the works.
BoxingScene.com was advised by Sosa's promoter, Russell Peltz, that as of Monday night that is now "signed and sealed" for April 8th. According to the Hall of Fame promoter, it didn't take much prodding to convince Sosa to take on this daunting challenge.
"Not even for a second. He didn't argue, at all. He's looking forward to the opportunity," said Peltz.
As for what titles will be on the line, Peltz stated - "That I don't know and personally I don't really care .You beat Lomachenko you're there, it doesn't matter the title. It doesn't matter to Sosa either."
Like many others, the native of Camden, New Jersey (who has a record of 20-1-4, 15 KO's) will be a heavy underdog versus the highly regarded Ukrainian southpaw. But Peltz remains undaunted when asked what kind of shot he gives his client, he states - "50-50, like any fight. But look, I love Bob (Arum) and he says (Lomachenko) is the best technical fighter since Muhammad Ali but Sosa can punch, he's a world-class puncher. He's going to be dangerous, like the Javier Fortuna fight, he never lost focus, he was way behind, he hung in there and got his hot. So we'll see."
Last June in China, Sosa rallied late and scored an 11th round stoppage against Fortuna to capture the WBA belt.
"I know that we're 20-to-1 but hey, listen, I'd rather be a 20-to-1 underdog than a 20-to-1 favorite. We'll have the best chance of anyone on April 8th of beating Lomachenko because we'll be in there," Peltz said.
There was talk of Jezreel Corrales (who also holds a version of the WBA strap) of facing Lomachenko but according to Bob Arum - "He turned it down."
Lomachenko-Sosa will be broadcast on HBO and according to Arum this card could land at the new MGM National Harbor Casino in Maryland.
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.
