By Sean Jones: Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn says Vasily Lomachenko is NOT among the “quartet” of young lightweights at the top of the division, and he won’t see Loma get his chance before those fights play out.
According to Hearn, his fighter Devin Haney must be the next opponent for IBF/WBA/WBC Franchise/WBO lightweight champion Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs) because it would be for the undisputed.
It would be a pure nightmare for Hearn if Lomachenko were to get to the vulnerable champion Kambosos before Haney because he would likely beat the four-belt champion.
Hearn believes that the undisputed fight between the champion Kambosos and WBC belt holder Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) is more critical than for George to defend against Lomachenko, who is expected to be elevated to his mandatory by the World Boxing Organization.
The “quartet” that Hearn is referring to involves these four fighters at 135:
- Ryan Garcia
- George Kambosos Jr.
- Devin Haney
- Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis
Hearn says the ONLY way the former three-division world champion Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) can get a title shot against the undisputed champion Kambosos is by becoming the WBO mandatory. Still, even then, he’ll need to wait until after George faces Haney.
Lomachenko NOT in the “quartet” of lightweights
“I saw the knockdown, and I saw him telling the corner to stop it, but good fight, amazing fight,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV on Lomachenko’s win over Richard Commey last Saturday night.
“He [Lomachenko] might be the best lightweight in the world, but I feel you’ve got that quartet at the moment, which is Tank, Haney, Kambosos, and [Ryan] Garcia.
“I think you’re going to see those fights happen before Lomachenko gets in that mix,” said Hearn in making it clear that Loma will be shut out of any opportunities for big fights.
It sounds like wishful thinking on Hearn’s part for Lomachenko to be shut out by the top lightweights in the division. If he gets his hands on the four titles, it’s going to put Haney in an unwinnable situation of needing to fight Loma rather than the badly flawed Kambosos.
Haney can probably beat Kambosos, but not Lomachenko. Tim Bradley said on Saturday night that Haney’s skills aren’t good enough for him to beat Lomachenko, and most fans would agree with that.
Hearn says Kambosos prefers Haney fight
“However, I believe Bob [Arum] is trying to make him the mandatory for the WBO, which will ultimately mean he [Lomachenko] will get his shot at some point,” continued Hearn. “But I think the undisputed fight will happen first between Devin Haney and Kambosos.
“I think by Bob trying to put that mandatory in place actually helps us because I tell you right now.
“Kambosos would much rather fight Devin Haney for the undisputed than instead just make the mandatory defense against Lomachenko.
“I have no doubts that Kambosos or Devin Haney would fight Lomachenko, but the undisputed fight should always take preference, and hopefully, we get that made next,” said Hearn.
Kambosos will likely duck the fight with Lomachenko and take the easier match against Haney.
By the way, Kambosos’ promoter Lou DiBella was talking last Saturday night, you could tell that he wants no part of matching his fighter against Lomachenko.
DiBella said that even if the WBO orders Kambosos to fight Lomachenko, they could petition the sanctioning body for an exception to face someone else.
Lou also said that even when a mandatory is ordered, there’s a period that allows the champion to fight someone else.
By the way that DiBella was talking, it was apparent that he didn’t fancy the idea of letting Kambosos fight Lomachenko. You don’t speak the way that DiBella did if you’re not worried about your fighter losing to Lomachenko.