Top Rank promoter Bob Arum spent some time talking to the media about a number of topics, including Vasiliy Lomachenko’s signs of slippage, his plans for Shakur Stevenson now that he’s nearing the end of his contract, and why Naoya Inoue is such a special talent. You can check out some excerpts from what Arum had to say below.
Arum on Lomachenko has not been doing well in the most crucial fights lately
“I believe Loma is still a great fighter. His fight with Haney. I watched this fight and I like Devin. He’s a great fighter, but I thought Loma won that fight. But again, the judges decided differently and you have to respect their decision.
“Did Loma slip a bit? Yes, at 36 he’s not that aged, but he’s had a long, long amateur career spanning almost 400 top-level fights. So he’s probably not as good as he was maybe five years ago. George Kambosos is a lively fighting dog, he is a very good fighter, always in very good shape. It will be a tough fight and we will see who will come out on top.
“I loved having Loma at Top Rank, I have great affection for him. I think he’s a great guy, great family, great father, just everything you could want in a player. But he’s in a very, very tough situation with Kambosos – he couldn’t handle Devin Haney, Kambosos couldn’t handle it, but he certainly could handle Teofimo.
Is the plan for the winner of Lomachenko vs Kambosos to face Shakur Stevenson
“Well, Shakur will fight on July 6 in Recent Jersey at the Prudential Center. We will announce the opponent relatively soon. We had a great time working with Shakur, he’s an amazing fighter with amazing skills, but our contract expires with the fight on July 6. Hopefully we’ll maintain a relationship with Shakur and continue that, but he’s a free agent after the July 6 fight, so we’ll see how it all works out. For me, watching Lomachenko vs. Shakur, because I’m a boxing maniac and I love boxing, it would be such a pleasure to see two such talented guys fight each other.
“But this is the future again. Loma has a tough fight against Kambosos and his opponent. The guys told me in the office that they chose Shakur, who is a really good fighter. So after July 6, we will look at it and see if we can fight a unification fight.
On where Naoya Inoue ranks among all the players he has promoted
“It’s terrifying what I see. He so overwhelms his opponents, really good opponents. I’ve never seen a player of his size perform like this. Maybe Salvador Sanchez had that ability, but even then, he didn’t win all his fights by knockout. Inoue goes into these fights, boxes these guys, and then he knocks them out. What we see in Inoue is something truly special. He is as special in boxing as Otani is in baseball.”