The way former three-time champ Jorge Linares tells it, both Vasyl Lomachenko and Gennady Golovkin are “going down.” Not in terms of hitting the canvas, but it terms of physical decline. Linares, who gave pound-for-pound champ Lomachenko a great fight in May of 2018, spoke with Fight Hub, and the 34-year-old said Loma is “not the same guy.” Why not? Because “maybe because he’s old,” Linares said.
Linares – who was reported to have tested positive for COVID-19 last week – says that while Lomachenko and Golovkin are past their best, he himself is fresh and that he sees himself “going to the top.”
“Lomachenko is not the same guy as he was in my fight,” Linares said. “He’s not the same. Nope. He is different. He hasn’t done an amazing job since my fight. He’s not the same guy. Maybe because he’s old. It’s been two years since our fight and people change so much after two years. Lomachenko has spent so much of his life training and GGG is the same way. Now, they are going down. But look at me, I’m 34, turning 35 next month but I’m going to the top.”
Since the up from the floor stoppage win he scored over Linares, 32 year old Lomachenko has boxed three times; decisioning Jose Pedraza, stopping Anthony Crolla and then, last time out in August of last year, decisioning Luke Campbell. Along the way, Lomachenko lost maybe three rounds. Has he really showed any signs of slippage? Maybe Linares sees things we do not, or cannot. Since pushing Lomachenko hard, Linares has gone 3-1, the loss coming via quick stoppage to Pablo Cesar Cano. So basing things on their post-May 2018 form, it is Linares, 47-5(29) who has shown signs of a decline. Maybe.
As for GGG, the 38 year old was indeed pushed very hard and hit plenty in his most recent fight, the points win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko, so maybe Linares has a point regarding Golovkin showing his age. We must wait and see, though. Neither GGG nor Lomachenko has fought this year yet, and we must wait and see how they look when they do return to the ring.
Maybe Linares is right, maybe those long amateur careers and those long and hard days of almost constant training have indeed caught up with Lomachenko and GGG. Golovkin, 40-1-1(35) is next expected to fight Kamil Szeremeta, while the 14-1(10) Lomachenko is still in negotiations for that fight with Teofimo Lopez. If either great has slipped, it will likely be shown in these fights.