At one point, it seemed blasphemous to place anyone in the same stratosphere as Vasiliy Lomachenko. His bemusing angles, ubiquitous offensive output, and sublime defensive acumen allowed the Ukrainian to aggregate world titles in three separate weight classes.
Ultimately, his reign atop the lightweight division was truncated at the hands of Teofimo Lopez in 2020. Fast forward roughly three years later, and most prognosticators are now under the impression that Lomachenko simply isn’t the same fighter he once was.
On May 20th, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, Lomachenko, 35, will attempt to turn back the clock when he takes on current undisputed kingpin, Devin Haney. According to oddsmakers, the former two-time Olympic gold medalist will suffer just the third defeat of his career.
But while most of the boxing world is turning its back on the aging veteran in anticipation of his drubbing, Lopez doesn’t believe that Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) will get it done. Although he could point to several physical and mental factors, Lopez refuses to do so. More than anything, the former unified lightweight champion spilled the beans on why he expects Lomachenko to emerge victoriously.
“Lomachenko,” said Lopez to ESNEWS when asked who he believes will win between Haney and Lomachenko. “Why? Because they’re not Teofimo.”
Fresh off helping his native land in the ongoing Russian invasion, Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) was ostensibly rusty in his first ring appearance in nearly a year. Nevertheless, despite his struggles against Jamaine Ortiz, Lomachenko has vowed to put his best foot forward.
If Lopez proves to be a prophet, the newly crowned champion won’t be out of the woods just yet. Waiting patiently and quietly in the wings is Shakur Stevenson. The former Olympic silver medalist took care of business against Shuichiro Yoshino in his lightweight debut, resulting in the WBC mandating him as the number one contender for the winner.
Still, no matter who’s placed in front of Lomachenko, Lopez doesn’t envision a scenario in which he comes out on the losing end against anyone.
“No one beats Lomachenko. Nobody.”