Beating Vasiliy Lomachenko doesn’t hold as much weight as it once did.
The superlatives used to describe his skills were well documented even before he gained national attention. As an amateur, the Ukrainian native racked up 396 wins against just one defeat, something he avenged several times over. In the pros, Lomachenko has been praised for his ubiquitous offense and magical defense, earning the nickname “The Matrix.”
All in all, the former two-time Olympic gold medalist took home world titles in three separate weight classes and was once considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Losses to Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney, however, have wiped away some of his pristine shine.
When last seen, the now 35-year-old was trying to rationalize how the three judges sitting ringside could view Haney as the outright winner of their showdown earlier this year. Facing any fighter, let alone an elite one, off the back of a loss isn’t exactly ideal. Whispers of Lomachenko being past his best and essentially at the end of his rope would likely plague whoever beats him next.
Shakur Stevenson, nevertheless, is willing to deal with the critics that may harshly judge his performance against Lomachenko if the two faced off next. Sure the aging star has a tattered record, but he’s never been flat-out dominated by anyone. Stevenson though, is convinced that everyone, including his naysayers, would have no choice but to give him his props for what he would ultimately end up doing to him.
“I would get my credit because I’m a wash him,” Stevenson told FightHype.com during a recent interview.
Getting a fight against one of the best fighters at 135 pounds has been a vexing process for Stevenson. Although he wasn’t overly happy about it, he agreed to take on Shuichiro Yoshino in his lightweight debut a few months ago.
Packing on the pounds and facing a bigger man was a breeze for Stevenson as he cruised to a sixth-round stoppage win. According to the 26-year-old, fighters such as Isaac Cruz, George Kambosos Jr., and William Zepeda turned the other way when team Stevenson approached them with a fight offer.
A matchup against Lomachenko is far from set in stone but if the two do in fact matchup, Stevenson is determined to show why his fellow contemporaries aren’t too gung-ho about facing him.
“If me and Lomachenko fight, I’m a wash him, and then everybody’s gonna understand why other people don’t like to fight me.”