After watching this young beast Teofimo Lopez knockout Richard Commey in two rounds, I don’t think Vasyl Lomachenko was too keen on facing him next.
Teofimo is no joke. The kid can crack and he is explosive with power in both hands.
Lomachenko who is widely regarded by many boxing pundits and fans as the number one pound for pound fighter in the world will be in for a very dangerous fight should he face Teofimo next.
Fighting a very young and ambitious fighter like this is a risky task. It’s not particularly rewarding for Lomachenko especially since Teofimo is a new champion just starting his reign.
The danger comes because it is a high risk and low reward type bout, the fight will benefit Teofimo more than Lomachenko.
This is actually a fight the great Ukrainian two-time Olympic gold medalist can lose and the payday probably won’t be worth it either.
A few years ago Manny Pacquiao who is known for rising the weight classes from flyweight all the way to junior middleweight, requested a showdown with Lomachenko at 140 pounds while he was still with Top Rank promotions.
Pacquiao, a world famous legend, and cash cow of boxing up there with Floyd Mayweather, was calling out Lomachenko. How often do fighters get such a gift to face a superstar who will not only give them fame but also fortune should they step into the ring with them?
Instead of accepting the lucrative offer and worthy challenge, Lomachenko laughed and made excuses such as Pacquiao was too big, and then said he didn’t want to beat up on an old man.
Pacquiao at 5 feet 5 inches is shorter, and smaller than the 5 feet 7 inches Lomachenko. So the he is “too big” excuse goes out the window.
If Lomachenko was truly humble he should have just said that Pacquiao is one of his boxing idols and he would rather make a name for himself rather than fight someone he looked up to as a kid on their way out.
But instead he had to make slick diss remarks about Pacquiao’s age and physical decline.
Well that 40-year-old you refused to fight for what would have been your biggest payday and career defining fight to make you a superstar, just defeated a bigger, younger undefeated world champion in Keith Thurman.
At 40, Pacquiao became the oldest welterweight champion in boxing history.
The truth is Lomachenko was either advised by managers to not fight Pacquiao because he was still to dangerous, or Lomachenko felt he couldn’t beat the old man.
Nobody said he would have to campaign at 140 pounds, all he would have to do is fight Pacquiao at a reasonable catchweight and go back down in weight.
The majority of young fighters if given the chance to face Pacquiao would have jumped right on it the moment the opportunity arose.
Not seizing the opportunity to fight Pacquiao could come back to haunt him.
Lomachenko will have to face Teofimo Lopez a young champion with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
If Lomachenko loses to Teofimo, he will probably regret not taking the Pacquiao fight.
He will tell himself, I wish I would have taken the Manny Pacquiao fight because at least I could have made millions and lost to a legend.
If Lomachenko really believed he was great, he would have tested himself against the old lion, instead he could get taken out by a young cub.
