By Chris Williams: Having failed at trying to capture the vacant WBO featherweight title last March in his loss to Orlando Salido, #5 WBO Vasyl Lomachenko (1-1, 1 KO’s) will get another chance at winning the WBO featherweight title on June 21st against unbeaten #1 WBO, #3 WBC, Gary Russell Jr. 24-0, 14 KO’s) in Los Angeles., California in a fight that could wind up at the StubHub center in Carson, California.
Earlier on Friday, Golden Boy Promotions out-bid Top Rank in a purse bid to promote the fight. Golden Boy edged Top Rank by out-bidding them by a $1,052, 250 offer to $1,050,000.
The former WBO featherweight champion Orlando Salido had the title stripped from him after he came in over the limit for his title defense against Lomachenko last March. The heavier Salido then dominated the first 9 rounds of the fight with his body punches, and held on in the past three rounds as Lomachenko fought hard to try and steal a decision.
Incredibly, the judges scored it a 12 round split decision win over Salido by the scores of 116-112, 115-113 for Salido and 115-113 for Lomachenko. I saw the fight as a clear cut win for Salido, as Lomachenko spent the first 9 rounds clinching and running. He looked nothing like a two-time Olympic gold medalist from Ukraine and more like just some guy that was picked out from a bunch of contenders and thrown in the ring with the more experienced Salido.
What’s kind of confusing is why the World Boxing Organization ordered a fight between Lomachenko and Russell Jr for the vacant WBO featherweight title rather than having Russell Jr. fight someone else. It was confusing in the first place that Lomachenko was given a title shot with a record of 1-0, but for him to get another title defense after losing to Salido, it makes it look like Lomachenko is being given more chances than he deserves.
Normally when a fighter loses in an attempt to win a world title, he has to work his way back to get another shot. It’s customary for fighters to rack up at least 20-30 fights before they’re given a shot at a world title. With Lomachenko, he only had to fight once to get a world title shot, and now he’s getting another fight after having failed to win a world title.
It’s going to be interesting to see if the WBO gives Lomachenko a third shot at a world title if he loses to Russell Jr. I suppose sooner or later Lomachenko will finally get it right and will eventually win a world title if he gets enough chances, but I hope he doesn’t wind up with a record that resembles a journeyman by the time that happens. Can you picture Lomachenko still getting title shots with a record of 1-6 or 2-8?
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