By Keith Idec
LAS VEGAS – Vasyl Lomanchenko subtly began negotiating Saturday night for a 2017 fight against Manny Pacquiao.
Fresh off his complete domination of Nicholas Walters, Lomanchenko told a group of reporters at The Cosmopolitan that ideally he wouldn’t have to move north of 135 pounds for a shot at the Filipino superstar. Promoter Bob Arum reiterated Saturday night that Pacquiao-Lomachenko is a realistic possibility for the second half of 2017.
One of the potential sticking points, however, is the weight at which Ukraine’s Lomachenko, the WBO world super featherweight champ, and Pacquiao, the WBO world welterweight title-holder, would fight.
Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs), who’ll turn 38 on December 17, has fought at least at welterweight for each of his past 13 fights, dating back to his 12th-round stoppage of Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto in their WBO 147-pound title fight in November 2009. Pacquiao weighed in at the 147-pound welterweight limit for just two of those fights, though.
His trainer, Freddie Roach, routinely states that Pacquiao could fight regularly at the junior welterweight limit of 140 pounds. Roach went as far as to say recently that Pacquiao could get down to the lightweight limit of 135 for a showdown with Lomachenko (7-1, 5 KOs), a two-time Olympic gold medalist who hasn’t boxed above the 130-pound limit during his three-year pro career.
“Probably 135 [would be] the max because right now I came in the ring [Saturday night] at 136 pounds,” Lomachenko said through his manager/translator, Egis Klimas, after making Walters (26-1-1, 21 KOs) quit following the seventh round of their HBO “World Championship Boxing” main event.
The weight aside, Lomachenko made it clear Saturday night that a fight against Pacquiao, initially dismissed as mere promotional propaganda from Arum, is a challenge that greatly interests him.
“I very much respect Manny Pacquiao,” Lomachenko said. “I like Manny Pacquiao. And I would be very proud if somebody would give me that opportunity, to fight Manny Pacquiao.”
Arum reminded media and fans earlier this week during a conference call that a polarizing potential rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the fight that interests Pacquiao most. Mayweather might remain retired, though, which would leave Pacquiao to seek other opponents next year.
The 5-foot-6 Lomachenko would be a dangerous foe for the 5-6 Pacquiao. Despite that he would have to move up at least one weight class to make that fight happen, Lomachenko’s uncommon combination of athleticism, boxing IQ and offensive/defensive skill would present plenty of problems for an aging fighter whose defensive flaws make him vulnerable.
“The Manny fight would be a possibility for the second half of 2017,” Arum said Saturday night. “That’s a possibility.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
