Lomachenko is unquestionably P4P #1

By Bob Smith - 12/10/2017 - Comments

Image: Lomachenko is unquestionably P4P #1

By Bob Smith: Like many fans, I was unsure what to expect when Vasyl Lomachenko faced Guillermo Rigondeaux last night. I tended to agree in a general way with Jim Lampley and Paulie Malignaggi who argued that the size and youth of Lomachenko would be too much for Rigondeaux going into the fight.

Lomachenko had at least a 7-pound weight advantage (probably more by the opening bell) and an 8-year age advantage, as he is 29 to the 37 of Rigondeaux. My best guess was that Lomachenko would win a unanimous decision or possibly even a split decision, and I held out the possibility that Rigondeaux could knock Loamchenko down, but not stop him.

What I did not expect, however, was the total domination of Rignodeaux, who is one of the top 10 fighters in the world P4P and one of the best defensive fighters in the world – in fact, according to CompuBox, he is the #2 behind Lomachenko in this area. And while the size and youth of Lomachenko did play a key role in his victory, what ultimately made Rigondeaux quit was his style – feints, foot movement, mixing levels, changing speed and power of his punches, and so on. Basically, from the 2nd round onward, the major “strategy” of Rigondeux was to duck or to hold, there were simply no openings for his powerful left hand, and he was not able to time Lomachenko.

This makes Rigondeaux the 4th opponent in a row that Lomachenko has made quit on his stool. It began with Nicolas Walters, who was and is a feared beast in the ring, with ferocious power in his right hand. He was also undefeated at that time, and has not fought since. Jason Sosa was too brave for his own good, and his corner had to stop it for his safety, and Sosa is a top 10 super featherweight. While Miguel Marriaga is not in the same class as the previous two, he was being seriously clowned and thankfully his corner stopped it.

But to make Guillermo Rigondeaux quit? In other words, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, the 7th greatest featherweight of all time according to CompuBox, someone universally recognized as a top 10 pound-for-pound fighter? And for his 4th “quit on stool” stoppage in a row against elite fighters? No fighter in boxing compares to this!

No one.

There are still other very good fighters in the world, and to round out my pound for pound top 10: I have #2 Gennady Golovkin #3 Terence Crawford #4 Saul Canelo Alvarez #5 Errol Spence Jr. #6 Anthony Joshua #7 Sergey Kovalev #8 Keith Thurman #9 Mikey Garcia #10 Deontay Wilder

I think that there are some arguments to be made for my last five, but for the most part we must agree Lomachenko #1. It is possible to put Terence Crawford above Golovkin given the disappointing win of Golovkin over Alvarez, bust still those are those are the top 4. However, what is true is that no one else on this list has outclassed his opponents so thoroughly in his recent fights. Lomachenko is at his peak and he is the best in the world right now!