By: Hans Themistode
Nearly everyone that saw Vasiliy Lomachenko lace up a pair of gloves and throw leather at his opponent, said the same thing. The 32 year old was a master boxer.
Various times throughout his career the Ukrainian product would stand right in front of his opponent and land ubiquitous shots while simply stepping to the side to avoid any returning fire.
Despite the hype, Teofimo Lopez always believed he could beat his man. But with the constant praise that was heaped on Lomachenko’s shoulder’s, the 23 year old took note of it and came into their undisputed title fight with high expectations. But after defeating him in lopsided fashion over the course of 12 rounds, Lopez was left disappointed.
“I expected more,” said Lopez during the post-fight presser A lot of people were talking highly of him. I expected more but he was pretty basic honestly.”
Outside of the second loss of his pro career, Lomachenko almost never lost a round in the ring. Yet, the younger, more explosive Lopez dominated the first half of their contest. The Ukrainian native has never been known as a high volume puncher but his connect rate through the first six rounds checked in at just four punches per round.
Lopez pushed the pace early and although he began gassing out during the back half of the contest, he finished strong. The now undisputed world champion landed a ridiculous 50 punches in the final round, by far the most of any Lomachenko opponent.
Those who will point to Lomachenko’s lack of activity as a result of his shortcomings on the night will quickly have their opinions rebuffed.
“Maybe it was the 14 month layoff that did it but I had a ten month layoff so why does it matter?”
Regardless of the reason behind Lomachenko’s lackluster showing, Lopez doesn’t want to hear any of it. For years the young, brash knockout artist watched from the sidelines as Lomachenko won his fights before he ever even stepped foot inside of the ring. The 396 wins as an amateur, twin Olympic gold medals and numerous world titles in multiple divisions cast an aura of invincibility around him. Something that Lopez quickly debunked in the first few minutes.
“Everyone was shook of Loma. They had too much respect for him. I pushed the fight and made the fight. I told you, all of that shit he does is for show.”