Vasyl “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko is a phenomenal boxer and many would rank him as the pound-for-pound best in the world. Yet, while not many casual boxing fans had heard of him until the latter half of this decade, a good promoter could easily take Lomachenko to new highs.
Back in December, Lomachenko beat Guillermo Rigondeaux, making a fourth successful defense of his WBO junior lightweight title. Given that Rigondeaux stepped up two divisions in order to fight him, it was a win not met without isolated skepticism. His victory over Jorge Linares five months later was a far greater indication of what he can achieve, with the Ukrainian winning the WBA super lightweight belt. Lomachenko was already a two-weight champion prior to his 10th-round TKO victory over Linares, and with the Ukrainian moving up the weights at a relatively rapid pace, fighting a seasoned veteran in Manny Pacquiao could be his true moment of reckoning.
With all but one of Lomachenko’s 12 professional fights being held stateside, beating a European opponent on his own turf would be another major statement for him, and a potential alternative to Pacquiao. In that regard, several British fighters close to Lomachenko’s weight category are potentially well-suited to the Ukrainian. Briton Carl Frampton, for instance, has the potential to be a good match. Priced by the online bookmaker Betway (as of July 17, 2018) as a massive 1/50 favorite to beat Luke Jackson next month, he would also have to step up in weight in order to fight Lomachenko. Thus, for now, Lomachenko’s focus will be on a stateside match where he is favorite, but enjoys a signficant PPV draw as a headliner; an opinion shared by The Big Lead.
Recently, Manny Pacquiao’s career was stumbling after inactivity and a loss to Jeff Horn. Far too many boxers go on for too long and until July 2018, it appeared that the popular Filipino had done the same. The magic appeared to have died, but those of a nostalgic mind were shown just how evergreen ‘Pac-man’ is, when he earned a seventh-round TKO win (as later reflected upon by ESPN) over Argentine Lucas Matthysse to win the WBA welterweight title. Pacquiao has had a great career and will no doubt be heading to the boxing hall of fame. Sixty-nine fights to date have yielded 60 wins and just seven losses. Best remembered for his tetralogy of fights against Marquez, Pacquiao cannot help but be tempted to prove that experience can still beat youthful endeavor in the ring. George Foreman’s shock recapture of a heavyweight belt in the 1990s is among the most memorable incidences of this happening in modern times:
Lomachenko vs. Pacquiao would have the potential to enthrall, but both fighters would have their respective reasons to box conservatively in the opening rounds. Lomachenko could not be outfought, but there is every possibility of him being ‘outboxed’ by Pacquiao. As far as Pacquiao is concerned, the fact that his TKO win over Matthysse was his first knockout victory since 2009 is also another statistic that should make him approach any future bout against Lomachenko with respect. Regardless, Pacquiao lives to defy expectation, and going up against a powerful fighter like Lomachenko would be no issue for Pacquiao. Prior to his win over Matthysse, Pacquiao had knocked out 64 percent of his opponents. Matthysse, meanwhile, had knocked out an incredible 92 percent of his opponents before the fight.
Although Pacquiao would be the driving force behind much of the PPV draw if he fought Lomachenko, it is the Ukrainian that the purists would be concerned for. This hypothetical fight could make Lomachenko something of a paper champion, if he wins a belt (WBA welterweight) in the division above where he currently stands, against a boxer well past his prime. Yet, if properly managed, a fight with a legend could be the fast-track gateway to another flashpoint fight for Lomachenko as his stock continues to rise.