Fighters can achieve greatness in a number of different ways: some, such as heavyweight terror Mike Tyson, make a huge impact in just a short period of time and become world champion after a veritable handful of fights; others, such as the once seemingly ageless Bernard Hopkins, achieve it through longevity, beating up Father Time at a time when retirement had long since looked close.
Then there are special fighters that occasionally come along who deserve to be placed in a section all by themselves. Vasyl Lomachenko is one such great fighter. Astonishingly, after just nine fights as a pro – one of which he lost – the two-weight world champion is the consensus choice for reigning pound-for-pound king – this has never happened before. We have seen fighters make enormous and quick strides before, yes, but Lomachenko, who is getting better and better with each fight, has at 8-1, reached a higher level of greatness than ANY fighter before him had done at just the nine fight mark.
Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Henry Armstrong, Julio Cesar Chavez, Sugar Ray Leonard……and on the list goes. No fighter was where Lomachenko is at just nine fights. The question now is, how great can the man known as “Hi-Tech” really become, how long will he dominate his opposition?
Of course, Lomachenko learnt his craft at amateur level, engaging in a crazy number of bouts and picking up an even crazier number of wins (a simply staggering 396-1!). Now a fully-rounded fighter (putting it mildly) at just 8-1, the Ukraine legend really does seem unbeatable. At the same stage in their careers, superb fighters such as Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao were still taking veritable baby steps in the prize ring.
With all he’s achieved already, and with the prospect of a whole lot more to come from his considerable boxing talent (uncommon boxing skill) could Lomachenko go on to be recognised as a greater fighter than the masters, Mayweather and Pac-Man, to name two modern day kings?
Lomachenko is that special, this kind if question has already been asked and is being asked right now. Fight fans as well as boxing fans (because Lomachenko can do both) have a real gem in front of them with the super-featherweight sensation. But how many more weight divisions will this unique fighter go on to conquer?