Vasily Lomachenko isn’t concerned about the knockout prediction that IBF lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez has been making ahead of their fight on October 17th at The Bubble at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
WBA/WBC/WBO 135-lb champion Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) says he’s accustomed to his opponents making predictions ahead of their fights. So he doesn’t view Lopez’s knockout prediction as anything different.
Lomachenko and Teofimo will be fighting on regular ESPN on October 17th. Both fighters are extremely confident. Loma seemed to get a lot upset when he was told about Teofimo wanting to knock him out. You could tell that bothered him, but he tried to act like it didn’t bother him.
You can’t blame Teofimo making a knockout prediction because that’s the way he is. Lomachenko needs to make sure he doesn’t get clipped by one of his big shots.
Lomachenko denies that he’s old
“I know it won’t be easy for me, but we’ll see. I heard this a lot of time from boxers, but it’s not mean,” said Lomachenko when told that Teofimo wants to knock him out.
“When you come into the ring, you forgot about your words, and you forgot about what you promised. You just try boxing, and you just try fighting. So for me, it’s just trash talk, and it’s just words. We’ll see what happens in the ring,” said Lomachenko sounding a little irritated.
“I don’t think about age. I’m just 32-years-old,” said Lomachenko when told that Teofimo says he’s going to beat the “old lion” on October 17th. “Who made the rules about age in boxing? It depends on the lifestyle. Some people are older at 27, some at 30, and somebody at 47. I feel great, and I feel young.
“Age is just a number,” said Arum. “Look at George Foreman. He won the heavyweight championship at age 45.”
Just going by the way that Lomachenko has been looking less dominant and intimidating, you have to believe that age is starting to creep in and slow Loma down.
If Lomachenko chooses to stay at lightweight, it could lead to him getting hurt eventually and knocked out. You have to say that Lomachenko is getting older because he’s taking a lot of punishment.
Lomachenko needs Lopez’s IBF title
“It has the ingredients to be a classic, but that depends on what happens on October 17th, but certainly it has the ingredients to be a real classic,” said Bob Arum.
“But one never knows. Look what happened on Saturday. Two guys unheralded gave a fight for the ages,” Arum said of the Jose Zepeda vs. Ivan Baranchyk war. ”
“We can check on October 17th. He has a good punch, good speed, and good IQ, he’s young, he’s hungry, but we will see,” said Lomachenko about Teofimo Lopez. ”
“We can only compare our skills in the ring when we fight top fighters. Absolutely not,” said Lomachenko when asked if it’s personal between him and Lopez.
“I have a goal and a dream, and he holds the IBF title. I need this belt. On Saturday, October 17th, I will try to take this belt.
“This is a big fight for Lomachenko, and he will go down in history as the greatest amateur fighter in the world and with a meteoric professional reason,” said Arum
. “We’ve matched him against the best fighters we can find, and he’s always come through, and obviously this fight will continue his legacy should he be successful,” Arum said.
Instead of Lomachenko getting all worked up about wanting to capture the IBF title that Teofimo possesses, he should be focused more on winning the fight.
The one criticism that some boxing fans have about Lomachenko is his fixation with winning titles. He seems to be mixed up about what these titles will do for his career. The titles won’t make Lomachenko more popular.
Lomachenko would be better off forgetting about the titles and focus on facing the best opposition every time out.
Vasily could move down to 130 after fight
“When I came into professional boxing, I only wanted to fight against the top fighters and the world champions, and now I have a top fighter in front of me,” said Lomachenko. “I want to improve who I am, my legacy.
“It depends on what happens after this fight,” Lomachenko said when asked if he’ll move back down to 130 after he faces Teofimo on October 17th. “It depends on what we can organize. I can fight at 130 or 135. It doesn’t matter. What better choice for me. I choose the best choice for me.
“Back home, if you say something they don’t like, you can get hit and get in a fistfight right on the street, and nothing is going to happen,” said Lomachenko. “If you beat somebody, you can walk away.
“Back home, it’s a completely different law. Back home, they don’t run their mouth like this because they know they’ll need to answer somehow,” Lomachenko said.
Even Lomachenko wins the fight on October 17th, he should move down to 130 before he gets hurt at 135. The guys hit too hard for Lomachenko, and e’s eventually going to be taken out by one of the young lions in the division.
October 17th will prove everything
“It’s very expensive, and the fighters have to get paid because it’s such a major fight,” said Arum when asked how he gets the finances to pay Teofimo and Lomachenk. “We wouldn’t have done it without ESPN. They’re supporters of the sport. They don’t just use the sport. They support it.
“I know after this fight,” said Lomachenko when asked if the fight will prove he’s a top pound for pound guy. “I know he’s a top fighter; he’s a good fighter.”
The winner of the Lomachenko vs. Teofimo fight will show who is #1 in the division. If Lomachenko can get a fight against Gervonta Davis or Devin Haney, that’s where he can prove himself in a big way.
What Lomachenko should have done already is focus on fighting the best guys at 135. If he’d done that it would have helped out