Will pound-for-pound star and reigning WBO super featherweight king Vasyl Lomachenko have his formidable skills tested in his next outing? It seems there is at least a decent chance that, yes, this will be the case.
According to Lomachenko’s promoter Bob Arum – who has said his fighter is the best boxer he has seen since the great Muhammad Ali – “Hi Tech” will fight again on December 9, in either New York or in Los Angeles. As per Lance Pugmire of the L.A Times, who tweeted the info, if it’s New York it will be Guillermo Rigondeaux, while if it’s L.A it will be Orlando Salido in a return bout.
These are the two matches the Top Rank boss is working on, at least. Either way, Lomachenko, 9-1(7) faces an interesting fight, as do the fans.
Rigondeaux, unbeaten but naturally the smaller man, might be able to match Lomachenko for sheer skill and natural talent. While Salido, as fight fans know full well, is the only man to have beaten Lomachenko at pro level; back in what was the gifted Ukrainian’s second pro fight, down at featherweight.
Rigondeaux, a southpaw like Lomachenko, has been calling for a fight with Lomachenko for some time now, even tweeting during the course of Lomachenko’s last fight – an easy stoppage win over Miguel Marriaga; a fighter who became the third straight Lomachenko foe to be forced to quit on his stool – that he will “stop this guy.” Assuming an agreeable weight for this fight can be worked out, this one could prove fascinating.
Salido, one of the toughest warriors in all of boxing, is reaching the end of a fine career, and he understandably wants a good payday for a return fight with Lomachenko, one of the hottest fighters out there today. So far, money terms have not proven agreeable to Salido or his team, but for as long as he remains active, the prospect of a Salido-Lomachenko II will be there.
Whether he faces the slick Cuban or the grizzled and teak-tough Mexican next, Lomachenko figures to get a better fight, a stiffer argument, than he did in his last three fights.