Saturday night marked an historic moment in professional boxing. It was the first time ever that two former two-time Olympic gold medalists competed in a championship prizefight. Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-1, 11 KOs) moved up two weight classes to challenge the reigning WBO super featherweight world champion Vasyl Lomachenko (10-1, 8 KOs).
Despite high expectations, the bout quickly became a one-sided mismatch, as Lomachenko dominated Rigondeaux for six rounds before the challenger retired on his stool, citing a hand injury. With the victory, this is four successful title defenses for Lomachenko. Since losing to Orlando Salido nearly four years ago, Lomachenko has rebounded nicely. He clearly learned from that losing experience, as evidenced by the fact he became the quickest boxer to ever win a major world championship, and he also became the fastest boxer to ever win major world championships in multiple weight classes.
With the victory, many (if not most) observers now view Hi-Tech Lomachenko as the #1 pound for pound boxer in the world. While some observers might prefer someone like Gennady Golovkin, or Terence Crawford, or perhaps some others – at the very least, Lomachenko seems the best positioned to seize claim to the pound for pound throne in the post Floyd Mayweather Jr era. Ever since Mayweather retired, the battle for pound for pound supremacy has been uncertain. Andre Ward appeared to have reached the top of the mountain following back-to-back wins against Sergey Kovalev, but Ward retired following his second win against Kovalev, and Lomachenko certainly seems to be the one looking to become a true successor to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
So is Vasyl Lomachenko truly the new pound for pound king of the boxing world? This edition of Rummy’s Corner explores that question, while also providing a brief recap of Lomachenko’s dominant effort against the elite Guillermo Rigondeaux. Please watch and enjoy the video.