By Chris Williams: Lightweight champion Mikey Garcia has a completely unique perspective as to why WBO super featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko’s opponents have been quitting lately in his last several fights. While the boxing public believe overwhelmingly that Lomachenko’s opponents are quitting because of his massive talent, Mikey sees there being another reason for why they’re quitting.
Mikey sees it as a case of Lomachenko being matched against inactive fighters that have been out of the ring for a long time. Lomachenko’s wins against Nicholas Walters and Guillermo Rigondeuaux came against fighters that hadn’t been all that active in their careers as of late. Walters was out of the ring for 11 months at the time he fought Lomachenko last year on November 26. Walters hasn’t fought ever since, and he’s now been out of the ring for over a year.
Mikey Garcia comments on the fact that Rigondeaux had to move up 2 weight classes to fight Lomachenko, and that he was “too small” to be fighting a guy as big as him. Lomachenko is as big as Mikey Garcia, and he fights in the lightweight division. So what we’re really talking about is Rigondeaux fighting a guy that was 3 divisions larger than him in Lomachenko rather than just 2 as originally believed.
“Walters had been inactive for 2 years or something,” said Mikey to Fighthype about Walters having been inactive at the time he fought Lomachenko. ”Rigo hasn’t been fighting that often either. The other opponents too. Maybe the layoff. Too small. He [Rigondeaux] moved up 2 weight classes, The other guys were completely over-matched,” said Mikey.
Going into last Saturday’s fight with Lomachenko, Rigondeaux had surprisingly ONLY fought 3 rounds in the last 2 years of his career since November 2015. Rigondeaux went 1 round with Moises Flores in June 2017, and 2 rounds against James Dickens in July 2016. It’s clear when looking at Rigondeaux’s resume that he was an inactive fighter at the time he fought Lomachenko last Saturday.
”Even at 130, if he fights [Miguel] Berchelt or [Gervonte] Davis, those are tough fighters that he could still win against,” said Mikey in talking about Lomachenko needing to face relevant, active fighters rather than smaller, older inactive fighters. ”Those are solid champions/opponents that are there to win. If I see him fighting those kinds of guys, then you’ve got to give him more credit. But when he’s fighting a smaller man like that, it looks bad. It takes away from the victory,” said Mikey about Lomachenko beating Rigondeaux, who was pooled from 2 weight classes BELOW his own at super bantamweight,” said Mikey.
It’s unlikely Lomachenko’s promoter Bob Arum will match him up against Gervonta Davis and Miguel Berchelt. Those guys aren’t with Top Rank. Mikey’s brother, Robert Garcia, sees Lomachenko being matched against whoever Arum tells him to fight, and he thinks that’ll be a Top Rank guy. We’re already hearing that Lomachenko will likely move up to the 135-lb. division and fight the winner of the Ray Beltran vs. Paulus Moses for the WBO lightweight title. Beltran is promoted by Top Rank.
”If he fights Berchelt or Davis, that kind of name, then you’ve got to give him more credit. He doesn’t have to move up just yet. He can fight those guys if he needs to,” said Mike.
It would be nice if Arum did match Lomachenko against Berchelt or Davis, but I don’t see either of those fights taking place in this life time.
”Right now, he’s going to wind up fighting whoever [Top Rank promoter Bob] Arum tells him to fight next,” said Mikey’s brother/trainer Robert Garcia.
I agree with Robert G. Lomachenko will fight whoever Arum wants him to, which will likely be the winner of the Beltran vs. Moses fight.
