By Keith Idec
Russell Peltz is a little taken aback by the predominant perception of the Vasyl Lomachenko-Jason Sosa fight Saturday night.
Lomachenko is a 25-1 favorite over Sosa, the former WBA world super featherweight champion Peltz promotes. Peltz gets the sense it’s as if Sosa might as well not even show up to MGM National Harbor for their HBO “World Championship Boxing” main event in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
“They say we’re not gonna win one second of one round in this fight,” Peltz said during a press conference Thursday. “Some of my closest friends in boxing, both of them, tell me that I’m leading a sacrificial lamb to slaughter.”
The 29-year-old Lomachenko has impressed Peltz by winning world titles in two weight classes by just his seventh professional fight. But Sosa’s promoter isn’t about to label Lomachenko (7-1, 5 KOs) as a great, unbeatable boxer.
“I don’t know if he’s a great fighter or not,” Peltz said. “He’s only had eight pro fights. I’m sure he’s a terrific fighter. But if Mike Tyson had retired after beating Michael Spinks in 1988, we’d be talking about him up there with Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali.
“You can’t rate a fighter until his career is over. You just can’t do it. Last month they were comparing Triple-G to Marvin Hagler. Triple-G’s a terrific fighter. But let’s see what happens at the end of his career because, all of a sudden, he was in a fight [against Daniel Jacobs] and people don’t know how good Triple-G is.”
Peltz offered a reminder Thursday that Sosa (20-1-4, 15 KOs) has occupied comparable positions and performed much better than expected.
The Camden, New Jersey, native drew with a then-unbeaten Nicholas Walters (26-1-1, 21 KOs) in their December 2015 fight in Verona, New York. In his next fight, he overcame a scorecard deficit to record an 11th-round technical knockout against Javier Fortuna (31-1-1, 22 KOs, 1 NC) and won the WBA 130-pound title June 24 in Beijing.
“Jason’s been around the block,” Peltz said. “I can’t remember the last time he was a favorite in a fight. He certainly wasn’t a favorite in the Nicholas Walters fight. He wasn’t a favorite in the Javier Fortuna fight. And from what I read, he was a toss-up fight in Monte Carlo against Stephen Smith [a unanimous-decision win].
“And what’s the worst thing that can happen to Jason Sosa Saturday night? He’s already been knocked out in one round. Just like Jack Dempsey, Max Schmeling, John Henry Lewis, Bob Montgomery, Joey Maxim, ‘Jersey’ Joe Walcott, Floyd Patterson, Sonny Liston, Emile Griffith, Michael Spinks and Ken Norton. And guess what? They’re all in the Hall of Fame. See ya Saturday.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
