Saturday night seemed to provide us with a timely reminder of Vasiliy Lomachenko’s greatness, even as we were waning from the impact of his extraordinary career.
I think the sense of taking the 36-year-old for granted is reflected in our combined pound-for-pound rankings, with Loma not receiving a single vote to place her in the top 10 in April’s rankings. Is this an oversight, or simply a case of recent bias in the form of a desire to include fresher faces?
Either way, Lomachenko showed flashes of his former dominant moniker, “No-mas-chenko,” as he stopped hometown favorite George Kambosos in the 11th round of a one-sided fight in Perth, once again earning him a place on the list as the champion of the 135-pound weight class he was forced to spend six years competing in, despite being half a stone lighter than his natural weight.
It was a joy to see Loma willing to go all out to finish Down Under, rather than simply go for another points victory. Perhaps his disputed loss to Devin Haney on questionable scorecards has given him an extra grit and determination this time around as he looks towards the future superfights that will cap off his legendary career.
Watching Lomachenko in all his glory is still one of them the the best sights to see in a state-of-the-art boxing ring. A modest 18-3 pro record might make an outsider look over his resume, but on his day he could still be one of the sport’s main attractions.
Perhaps, unfortunately, that trend seems set to continue as Gervonta “Tank” Davis’ name begins to be mentioned as Lomachenko’s next target at 135. Much like Orlando Salido came in too early in his pro career, “Tank” may prove to be too delayed and too huge for a man who simply won’t say no.
In the co-main event, Andrew Moloney announced his retirement after what he believed was a disastrous decision loss to Mexico’s Pedro Guevara. Our Friday betting preview suggests that the 9/5 scorecard was the obvious choice for the underdog in a fight that was packed with action and hard-fought action – one where form quickly fades and rounds are firm to come by.
Moving on in front of the home crowd, Moloney may be starting to rue his post-fight tantrum. Both he and his brother Jason simply underperformed in back-to-back defeats at the weekend, handing the decision over to the judges and their interpretations.
The British scene saw Denzel Bentley deliver a brutal KO victory over Danny Dignum to claim the international middleweight belt, Archie Pointed improve to 24-0 at super featherweight, Lauren Price claim the welterweight world title against Jessica McCaskill and Rhys Edwards remain unbeaten in a fight to tip Thomas Patrick Ward for the WBA intercontinental featherweight title. But all of this seemed like a precursor to the build-up to Fury-Usyk this week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In typical John Fury fashion, Tyson Fury’s father made headlines on Monday by headbutting a member of Usyk’s team, lighting up the match on a day of chaos in the kingdom.
The fighters have managed to shake off most of the distractions as they prepare for one of the most significant and high-profile fights of the last few decades. Both men look focused, in shape (as bad as Fury ever looks), and the path to the undisputed heavyweight title seems clear after years of hesitation and doubt.
There is of course excitement about the competition, but there are sobering realities in the lives of Saudi citizens that will be ignored amid such fanfare. I spoke with Wajeeh Lion – a gay man in exile from Saudi Arabia – for The Guardian to highlight some of the growing concerns about boxing’s involvement in Saudi Arabia’s sports laundry.
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